Method of forming pavement on automobile test road and pavement member for automobile test road

Abstract: A pavement member (1) and a method of forming pavement on the automobile test road by using this pavement member (1), for improving the efficiency in the construction of the pavement and the precision for the road surface finish. A plurality of pavement members (1) are manufactured in advance, where each pavement member (1) includes a concrete block member (3) and a plurality of tiles (5) having a desired surface characteristic and arranged on an upper side of the concrete block member (3), and are then laid on the automobile test road with the tiles (5) on the upper side of each pavement member facing upwards. The pavement member (1) incorporates adjustment bolts (45) for adjusting a height of each pavement member (1) with respect to the automobile test road, where each adjustment bolt (45) has a substantially pointed end abutted against the automobile test road.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pavement member for an automobile test road and to a formation of a pavement on such a test road having a surface characteristic suitable for testing an automobile, automobile tires, and other automobile parts, using such pavement members. Description of the Background Art Conventionally, a pavement on a test road having a surface characteristic suitable for testing an automobile, automobile tires, and other automobile parts has been constructed by forming a concrete pavement layer on the test road surface first, and then laying tiles having a required sliding friction on a surface of the concrete pavement layer by using adhesives. However, such a conventional method of constructing the pavement on the automobile test road has a drawback that it is quite time consuming as the tiles must be laid on the concrete pavement layer one by one. Moreover, such a conventional method of constructing the pavement on the test road also has another problem that it is difficult to obtain a desired precision for the road surface finish as it is difficult to lay all the tiles at uniform level. FR 2 699 944 discloses a structure for a pavement of a road comprising a plurality of longitudinal and cross members connected to each other to form a grid pattern. The different members are then provided with a covering and finally an upper surface for the road is formed which has a particular surface. DE 12 18 487 shows in which way concrete plates may be formed that are used for roads with heavy traffic. The concrete plates have a rectangular form with a particular structure along their periphery that is used for connecting adjacent plates. BE-A-369 106 discloses construction members for a road surface that are supported by concrete cross members that are arranged between the ground and different pavement members. De-U-86 19 230 discloses piled articles that are fixed to a support. CH-A-594 106 discloses a rectangular plate for arranging on heavily used areas of the ground with particular water outlet openings. Travaux no. 661, January 1991, Paris (FR), page 50 "Infos Actualities" discloses a surface for a road which has the particular characteristic to produce friction between the tires of a car and the surface. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a pavement member that may be easily assembled to a pavement on an automobile test road in quite a short time at comparatively low costs. It is another object of the invention to provide a method for forming a pavement on the automobile test road, capable of improving the efficiency of the construction of the pavement on the automobile test road and the precision of the road surface finish. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are disclosed by the subclaims. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a cross sectional view of one embodiment of a pavement member according to the present invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the pavement member shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of a moulding frame used in manufacturing the pavement member shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the moulding frame shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a first type hole jig member used in manufacturing the pavement member shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a second type hole jig member used in manufacturing the pavement member shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view of the pavement member shown in Fig. 1, attached with a suspension device used in moving this pavement member. Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the pavement member attached with the suspension device shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a side view of a crane suspending the suspension device attached to the pavement member as shown in Fig. 7, in order to move this pavement member. Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view of the pavement member shown in Fig. 1, attached with adjustment bolts and a connection member used in laying this pavement member. Fig. 11 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the connection member shown in Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a cross sectional view of the pavement member shown in Fig. 1, attached with adjustment bolts and a filling device used in laying this pavement member. Fig. 13 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a first type hole of the pavement member shown in Fig. 1, after the laying of this pavement member is finished. Fig. 14 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a second type hole of the pavement member shown in Fig. 1, after the laying of this pavement member is finished. Fig. 15 is a cross sectional view of a modified configuration of a pavement member according to the present invention. Fig. 16 is a cross sectional view of the pavement member shown in Fig. 1, attached with modified adjustment bolts and a connection member used in laying this pavement member. Figs. 17A and 17B are cross sectional views of an adjustment bolt with a flat lower end and an adjustment bolt with a pointed lower end, for explaining the effect of the modified adjustment bolt in Fig. 16. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, the embodiment of a pavement member for paving an automobile test road according to the present invention will be described with references to the drawings. Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 show a precast pavement member 1 which is to be manufactured in a factory before it is used in paving the automobile test road. As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, this precast pavement member 1 comprises: a concrete block member 3; tiles 5 having a required surface characteristic such as a desired sliding friction on its surface, which are fixedly laid over an upper surface of the concrete block member 3; a plurality of first type holes 7 piercing through the concrete block member 3, each of which has an upper opening that can be covered by a tile similar to the tiles 5; a plurality of second type holes 11 piercing through the concrete block member 3, each of which has a female thread 9 provided inside and an upper opening that can be covered by a tile similar to the tiles 5; front connector members 19 for connecting this precast pavement member 1 with another precast pavement member to be arranged on a front side; and rear connector members 21 for connecting this precast pavement member 1 with another precast pavement member to be arranged on a rear side. The first type holes 7 are used in pouring a filling material such as cement after this precast pavement member 1 is actually placed at an appropriate position on the automobile test road, whereas the second type holes 11 are used in moving this precast pavement member 1 to an appropriate position on the automobile test road and in adjusting a level of this precast pavement member 1 with respect to the neighbouring precast pavement members, as will be described in detail below. The tiles 5 cover the entire upper surface of the concrete block member 3 except for the positions of the first type holes 7 and the second type holes 11 when this precast pavement member 1 is manufactured in the factory, and the openings of the first type holes 7 and the second type holes 11 will be closed by attaching the tiles 5 over these openings, as will be described in detail below. This precast pavement member 1 can be manufactured in the factory according to the following procedure. First, as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, a moulding frame 25 is prepared, and the front and rear connecting members 19 and 21 are attached on front and rear end sides of the moulding frame 25, while the tiles 5 are laid over an entire lower surface of the moulding frame 25 except for positions of the first and second type holes 7 and 11 and tile joint adjustment members 27 are provided between each adjacent tiles 5. Then, first type hole jig members 35 for forming the first type holes 7 and second type hole jig members 43 for forming the second type holes 11 are attached to appropriate positions on the lower surface of the moulding frame 25 by using bolts 45. Here, the first type hole jig member 35 has a detailed configuration as shown in Fig. 5, which comprises: a dummy tile 29 to be placed on the lower surface of the moulding frame 25; a pipe 31 standing on the dummy tile 29 which forms an inner surface of the first type hole 7; and a lid 33 closing an upper opening of the pipe 31; where the bolt 45 is pierced through the dummy tile 29 and the lid 33 as well as the lower surface of the moulding frame 25 and engaged with a nut 48 provided on a back side of the lower surface of the moulding frame 25. On the other hand, the second type hole jig member 43 has a configuration as shown in Fig. 6, which comprises: a dummy tile 37 to be placed on the lower surface of the moulding frame 25; a pipe 39 standing on the dummy tile 37 which forms an inner surface of the second type hole 11; a female screw member 41 for forming the female thread 9 inside the second type hole 11, which is provided above the pipe 39; a positioning member 38 provided inside the pipe 39 for positioning the female screw member 41 with respect to the pipe 39; and a lid 46 closing an upper opening of the female screw member 41; where the bolt 45 is pieced through the dummy title 37, the positioning member 38, and the lid 46 as well as the lower surface of the moulding frame 25 and engaged with a nut 48 provided on a back side of the lower surface of the moulding frame 25. Then, the cement is poured into the moulding frame 25 to form the concrete block member 3, and after the concrete block member 3 is formed as the cement has hardened, the entire first type hole jig members 35 except for the pipe 31 are removed by taking the bolts 45 out, while the entire second type hole jig members 43 except for the female screw member 41 and the pipe 39 are removed by taking the bolts 45 out, and the manufactured precast pavement member 1 equipped with the first and second type holes 7 and 11, the front and rear connecting members 19 and 21, and the tiles 5 can be taken out from the moulding frame 25. Next, the embodiment of the method of forming the pavement on the automobile test road according to the present invention, which uses a plurality of the precast pavement members 1 manufactured in advance as described above, will be described in detail. First, the precast pavement member 1 manufactured in the factory in advance as described above is transported to an actual site of the automobile test road. Then, as shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, a suspension device 15 is attached on the upper surface of the precast pavement member 1 by engaging attachment bolts 17 of the suspension device 15 with the female threads 9 of the second type holes 11 on the precast pavement member 1. Then, as shown in Fig. 9, the precast pavement member 1 is lifted along with the suspension device 15 by a crane 47 hooking the suspension device 15, and moved over to an approximate position on the automobile test road. Then, the suspension device 15 is removed from the precast pavement member 1 by disengaging the attachment bolts 17 from the female threads 9 of the second type holes 11 on the precast pavement member 1. Next, each precast pavement member 1 is united with other precast pavement members 1 to be placed adjacent to each other, as shown in Fig. 10, and position on an appropriate position on the automobile test road. Here, as shown in Fig. 11, the uniting of the two adjacent precast pavement members 1 is achieved by means of a connection member 23 having a rod portion 23a to be inserted into a hole provided in the front connecting member 19 of one precast pavement member 1 and a thread portion 23b to be engaged with a thread provided in the rear connecting member 21 of another precast pavement member 1. Next, adjustment bolts 13 are inserted into the second type holes 11 and engaged with the female threads 9 provided therein, such that a lower end of each adjustment bolt 13 is abutted against a plate member 49 set in advance at a prescribed position below the precast pavement member 1. Then, a height of each adjustment bolt 13 extending above the precast pavement member 1 is adjusted to a predetermined height, such that the precast pavement member 1 can be leveled with respect to the adjacent precast pavement members. Next, as shown in Fig. 12, a filling device 51 is inserted into each of the first type holes 7 on the precast pavement member 1 sequentially, to pour a filling material 53 such as cement between the automobile test road surface and the lower surface of the precast pavement member 1. Here, the pouring of the filling material 53 is carried out by observing the pouring of the sufficient amount of the filling material 53 at each of the first type holes 7, observed from adjacent first type holes 7 not used for pouring the filling material 53 yet, and continued until each of the first type holes 7 is filled up completely. Finally, after the filling material 53 has hardened, the adjustment bolts 13 are removed from the second type holes 11, and the upper opening of each of the first type holes 7 is covered by attaching a tile 5 as shown in Fig. 13, while the upper opening of each of the second type holes 11 is covered by inserting a sponge member 55 for protecting the female threads 9 from above and attaching a tile 5 as shown in Fig. 14. This attaching of the tiles 5 over the upper openings of the first and second type holes 7 and 11 completes the paving of the automobile test road. As a result, the paving of the automobile test road by using the precast pavement member 1 as described above has the following advantages. (1) The precast pavement member 1 can be easily transported because of its configuration as a single unit. (2) The connection between the adjacent precast pavement members can be secured by using the connection member 23 between the adjacent precast pavement members 1. (3) The precast pavement members 1 can be leveled with respect to each other accurately by adjusting the adjustment bolts 13 inserted into the second type holes 11, so that the desired precision for the road surface finish can be achieved. (4) The precast pavement member 1 can be firmly mounted on the automobile test road by using the filling material 53 poured through the first type holes 7. (5) The efficiency in the construction of the pavement on the test road can be improved because the pavement is constructed by using the block shaped precast pavement members 1. Now, in the embodiment of a pavement member described above, it is preferable to modify the configuration of the precast pavement as shown in Fig. 15, where the precast pavement member 1' further includes a film layer 60 which is formed over a lower surface of the concrete block member 3 except for the positions of the first type holes 7 and the second type holes 11 when this precast pavement member 1 is manufactured in the factory. Namely, there are cases in which it is necessary to re-adjust the level of the precast pavement member after it has been fixed to an appropriate position on the automobile test road because of the irregular sinking of the automobile test road surface which supports the precast pavement member. In addition, there are also cases in which the automobile test road itself is expected to be moved to some other site in future and it is preferable to be able to utilize the precast pavement members for this automobile test road again at its moved site. In these cases, the removal of the precast pavement member 1 in a configuration of Fig. 1 which has been fixed to the automobile test road once may cause a damage to the precast pavement member 1 itself or the automobile test road surface because the precast pavement member 1 and the automobile test road surface are firmly adhered together by the filling material once. In contrast, the precast pavement member 1' in a configuration of Fig. 15 causes no problem at a time of its removal because of the presence of the film layer 60 between the concrete block member 3 of the precast pavement member 1' and the automobile test road surface, which can prevent the firm adherence of the precast pavement member 1' and the automobile test road. This film layer 60 can be provided by attaching an appropriate film member such as a vinyl film over the lower surface of the concrete block member 3 before the cement forming the concrete block member 3 has hardened during the manufacturing process, or by making an appropriate painting treatment over the lower surface of the concrete block member 3 after the cement forming the concrete block member 3 has hardened in the manufacturing process. On the other hand, in the embodiment of the method of forming the pavement on the automobile test road described above, it is preferable to modify the shape of the adjustment bolts as shown in Fig. 16, where each adjustment bolt 13' has a lower end abutting against the plate member 49 to be in a substantially pointed shape, such as an arrowhead shape or a semi-spherical shape which can make a substantially point contact with the plate member 49. Namely, the adjustment of the height of the precast pavement member 1 is achieved by turning the adjustment bolt with respect to the female thread 9 so as to raise or lower the precast pavement member 1 as a whole along a vertical direction. Here, when the adjustment bolt 13 with a flat lower end is used as in Fig. 10, in addition to a force in the vertical direction for raising or lowering the precast pavement member 1, a force on a horizontal plane in a direction of turning of the adjustment bolt 13 is also exerted on the precast pavement member 1 as indicated in Fig. 17A, such that there are cases in which the planar position of the precast pavement member 1 can be displaced from an appropriate position. In contrast, when the adjustment bolt 13' with a pointed lower end is used as in Fig. 16, only a force in the vertical direction for raising or lowering the precast pavement member 1 can be exerted-on the precast pavement member 1 as the adjustment bolt 13' is turned as indicated in Fig. 17B, so that it is possible to prevent the undesirable displacement of the planar position of the precast pavement member 1 at a time of the adjustment of the height of the precast pavement member 1. It is to be noted that the pointed lower end of the adjustment bolt 13' may be formed by means of an additional structural member attached at a lower end of the adjustment bolt 13' such as a bearing structure, if desired. It is also to be noted that many modifications and variations of the above embodiments may be made without departing from the novel and advantageous features of the present invention. Accordingly, all such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims: A kit of parts comprising a pavement member to be laid on an automobile test road for forming a pavement thereon, the pavement member (1, 1') comprising a concrete block member, characterised in that said concrete block member (3) has a plurality of first type holes (7) piercing through the concrete block member (3) and a plurality of second type holes (11) piercing through the concrete block member (3), each of the second type holes (11) having a female thread (9) formed therein, and a plurality of tiles (5) having a desired surface characteristic are arranged on an upper side of the concrete block member (3) except for the position of the first type holes (7) and the second type holes (11). The kit of parts according to claim 1, characterised in that upper openings of the first type holes (7) and the second type holes (11) on the concrete block member (3) are adapted for arranging additional tiles (5) having the desired surface characteristic to complete the pavement of the automobile test road. The kit of parts according to claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the kit further comprises said additional tiles (5) having the desired surface characteristic for closing upper openings of the first type holes (7) and the second type holes (11) on the concrete block member (3). The kit of parts according to claims 2 or 3, characterised in that the additional tiles are detachable. The kit of parts according to one of the previous claims, characterised in that the first type holes (7) are pour-through holes for filling a space between the pavement member (1) and the automobile test road by a filling material (53). The kit of parts according to one of the previous claims, characterised in that the second type holes (11) with the female threads (9) formed therein are screw-in holes for attachment bolts (17) for releasably engaging the female threads (9). The kit of parts according to one of the previous claims, characterised in that the concrete block member (3) further includes means (19, 21) for connecting the pavement member (1) with other adjacently laid pavement members. The kit of parts according to one of the previous claims, characterised in that the kit further comprises adjustment bolts (13, 13') for adjusting a height of the pavement member with respect to the automobile test road by being inserted into the second type holes (11), wherein these bolts (13, 13') are engageable with female threads (9) formed inside the second type holes (11) and are turnable with respect to said female threads. The kit of parts according to claim 8, characterised in that said adjustment bolt (13, 13') has a substantially pointed end abutting against the automobile test road. A method for forming a pavement on an automobile test road characterised by the steps of: manufacturing a plurality of pavement members (1) with the features of at least one of the previous claims; laying the manufactured pavement members (1) on the automobile test road with the tiles (5) on the upper side of each pavement member facing upwards; inserting adjustment bolts (13, 13') into the second type holes (11) to form an engagement with the female threads (9) formed inside the second type holes (11), adjusting the height of each pavement member with respect to the automobile test road by turning the adjustment bolts (13, 13') with respect to the female threads (9) so as to level each pavement member (1) with respect to other adjacently pavement members (1); covering the upper openings of the first and second type holes by additional tiles (5), with the same surface characteristic as the other tiles laid over the block member surface. The method according to claim 10, characterised in that each adjustment bolt (13) abuts against the automobile test road with its substantially pointed end. The method of claim 10, characterised in that at the manufacturing step the concrete block member (3) and the tiles (5) are formed integrally by arranging the tiles over a moulding frame (25) first and then pouring the concrete into the moulding frame, such that the concrete block member (3) having the tiles arranged thereon is formed as the concrete hardens, while the first type holes (7) and the second type holes (11) are formed inside the concrete block member (3) at a time of forming the concrete block member integrally with the tiles, by attaching first type hole jig members (35) in shapes of the first type holes (7) and second type hole jig members (43) in shapes of the second type holes (11) to the moulding frame (25) before the concrete is poured into the moulding frame. The method of claim 10, characterised in that in the laying step each pavement member (1) is laid on the automobile test road by the steps of: inserting attachment bolts (17) for attaching each pavement member (1) to a suspension device (47) into the second type holes (11) to form an engagement with the female threads (9) formed inside the second type holes; and lifting and moving the pavement member (1) by using the suspension device (47) attached to each pavement member (1) by the attachment bolt to an appropriate position on the automobile test road. The method of claim 10, characterised in that at the laying step each pavement member (1) is connected with other adjacently laid pavement members (1) by connection means (19, 21, 23) provided on the concrete block member (3) of each pavement member (1). The method of claim 10, characterised by the further step of pouring a filling material (53) for filling a space between each pavement member (1) and the automobile test road through the first type holes (7) after the height of each pavement member is adjusted at the adjusting step. The method according to claim 15, characterised in that the additional tiles (5) are detached while the first type holes (7) and the second type holes (11) are used at the pouring step and the adjusting step, and that after removing the adjustment bolts (13, 13') from the second type holes (11) after the filling material (53)poured at the pouring step has hardened, the additional tiles (5) are attached to cover the upper openings of the first type holes (7) and the second type holes (11) after the removing step.

Inventors: MITANI AKIO, YUKAWA WATARU, MITANI, AKIO, YUKAWA, WATARU, Mitani, Akio, c/o The Nippon Road Co., Ltd., Yukawa, Wataru, c/o The Nippon Road Co., Ltd.
Applicants: NIPPON ROAD COMPANY LTD, THE NIPPON ROAD COMPANY LIMITED
Application year: 1995
Main classification: E01C9
IPC codes: E01C5, E01C9, E01C23