TEMPORARY THERMOPLASTIC MARKING COVERING FOR ROADS, PARKING AREAS AND THE LIKE

Abstract: The present invention relates to a temporary thermoplastic marking covering for roads, parking places and the like. The marking covering according to the invention is characterized in that it consists of a homogeneous material mixture comprising fillers, pigment, etc., which material mixture can be applied on a base in a melt form without any intermediate adhesive layer towards the base and which has sufficient inner strength to be torn off therefrom.

Description: TITLE: Temporary thermoplastic marking covering for roads, parking areas and the like. TECHNICAL FIELD: The present invention relates to a thermoplastic marking covering for roads, parking areas and the like, which covering is intended to be temporary, which means that it shall be able to be removed after a certain period of time when the marking covering is no longer needed. PRIOR ART: Coverings on roads, parking areas, pavements and the like in the form of arrows, solid lines or dotted lines, etc. are used for marking driving direction, parking spaces, etc. They are intended to be permanent and shall constitute a marking as long as possible until any change in the traffic is to be made. The coverings consist of a binder which preferably is thermoplastic and they include pigments, fillers, glass pearls and the like. The coverings are normally applied in the form of a melt by means of specially developed machines by which further glass pearls are usually sprayed on the not yet solidified covering as a last step in the work. In connection with road works or other traffic diversions which are intended to be present during a pre-determined short period of time, it is however desirable to make temporary markings by means of coverings on the base. Such temporary coverings are to be removed in some way after their time has expired. These temporary coverings consist mostly of tape-shaped bands or laminates. The laminates may be made from plastic films, fabrics of plastic fibres impregnated with some kind of plastics or the like and they all have an adhesive on the underside towards the base. After use they can be torn off from the base. Examples of such temporary markings are described in the US patents 4,299,874, 5,437,907 or DE 3,040,161. Another type of temporary marking coverings is described in GB 2,011,453 and US 3,459,106, which later coverings are intended to be dissolved after use by means of alkaline solution or by means of heat which decomposes the polymer. The basic substance in the above mentioned temporary coverings is, besides one or more thermoplastic, rubber or the like. TECHNICAL PROBLEM: The use of temporary road coverings according to the known technique is often both troublesome and costly. Thus, the laminate or the tape, for example, which as such are expensive to produce, must be applied by means of specially designed machines or by hand. The temporary coverings which must be removed by dissolution, heating or milling off may consist of a homogeneous material which can be applied by conventional covering machines but the removal of these coverings is instead complicated and costly and requires solvents, heating elements or milling machines. THE SOLUTION: It has therefore long been a desire to be able to apply a temporary marking covering which is homogeneous and which can be applied on the base by means of conventional covering machines and which, after completed use, quite simply can be pulled off from the base. One has therefore arrived at the present invention which is a temporary thermoplastic marking covering for roads, parking areas and the like and which is characterized in that it consists of a homogeneous material mixture comprising fillers, pigments, etc., which can be applied on the base in a melt form without any intermediate adhesive layer towards the base and which has sufficient inner strength to be able to be torn off from the base after its functional period as a marking. According to the invention, it is suitable that the material covering as starting materials before the application comprises 4-98% thermoplastic polymers, 0-20% resins, 0-30% plasticizers, as well as pigments, fillers, etc. The thermoplastic polymer should, according to the invention, consist of ethene copolymers, styrene block copolymers, ionomers, amorphous polypropylene, elastomers of polyamide, polyurethane or of a polyester type. Combinations of different polymers or only one type may be used. According to the invention, the resin suitably consists of aromatic or aliphatic hydrocarbon resins, terpene resin, cumaronindene resin or of ester resins which are modified or unmodified. DETAILED DESCRIPTION: The temporary marking covering according to the present invention consists substantially of a thermoplastic polymer. A plasticizer has in most cases been added to the polymer so that it has obtained the proper plasticity. The polymer mixture also contains in most cases a resin which consists of a low-molecular amorphous thermoplastic polymer, which gives the proper adhesion. Besides these components, the covering comprises in the usual way additions of pigments, fillers in the form of, for example, silicates and carbonates and glass pearls which are usual for coverings. The pigment may be, for example, a white or yellow pigment. The thermoplastic covering mixture according to the invention can be melted and applied on a base, for example asphalt, using conventional application equipment for thermoplastic materials. Due to the adhesion properties of the thermoplastic, which is mainly due to the content of resin, the covering will adhere to the asphalt or some other base. No special adhesive is required to be applied on the base since the covering adheres firmly to the base with a sufficiently great strength. When concrete is to be covered, a pretreatment with a primer may be used, as for conventional thermoplastic materials, to improve the adhesion. The marking covering according to the present invention has also a high inner strength. This is necessary since the covering strip shall be torn off after use and it is then advantageous that it can be torn off in one piece without breaking so that extra work arises during removal. As stated above, the content of resin is of great importance for the adhesion. This content should be between 0-20% of the covering material. If a thermoplastic with good adhesion is used, the resin can be used in very small amounts or completely omitted. It is important that the adhesion to the base is less than the inner strength of both the base and the covering material and that the material has such a flexibility that the marking is not broken during the removal. The covering material must be age resistant so that it retains its inner strength and can be removed in one piece after its functional period as a marking. Removed material may to some extent be mixed into a new material and thus be reused. In addition, the material must not be too brittle during the time of use. One example of an embodiment of the present invention for a yellow marking covering consists of the following composition: resin 6 parts by weight polymer 35 parts by weight plasticizer 1 parts by weight white pigment 2 parts by weight yellow pigment 1 parts by weight filler 35 parts by weight glass pearls 20 parts by weight The invention is not limited to the above embodiment but can be defined in different ways within the scope of the claims.

Claims: CLAIMS: 1. Temporary thermoplastic marking covering for roads, parking areas and the like c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that it consists of a homogeneous material mixture comprising fillers, pigments, etc., which can be applied on a base in a melt form without any intermediate adhesive layer towards the base and which has sufficient inner strength to be torn off from the base after its functional period as a marking. 2. Temporary thermoplastic marking covering according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that it as starting materials before the application comprises 4-98% thermoplastic polymer, 0-20% resin, 0-30% plasticizer and pigment, fillers, etc. 3. Temporary thermoplastic marking covering according to claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the thermoplastic polymer consists of ethene copolymers, styrene block copolymers, ionomers, amorphous polypropylene, elastomers of polyamide, polyurethane or of a polyester type or combinations thereof. 4. Temporary thermoplastic marking covering according to any of claims 1-3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the resin consists of aromatic or aliphatic hydrocarbon resins, cumaronindene resin or ester resins which are modified or unmodified or mixtures thereof.

Inventors: JACOBSSON INGEMAR, MATHIASSON ANDERS, NILSSON JESPER, OGEMARK TONI, JACOBSSON, INGEMAR, MATHIASSON, ANDERS, NILSSON, JESPER, OGEMARK, TONI
Applicants: CLEANOSOL INT AB, JACOBSSON INGEMAR, MATHIASSON ANDERS, NILSSON JESPER, OGEMARK TONI, CLEANOSOL INTERNATIONAL AB, JACOBSSON, INGEMAR, MATHIASSON, ANDERS, NILSSON, JESPER, OGEMARK, TONI
Application year: 1996
Main classification: E01F9
IPC codes: E01F9