Patent Publication Number: US-11047097-B2

Title: Temporary flexible pavement marker

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a Continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/654,278 entitled “Temporary Flexible Pavement Markers” filed Jun. 19, 2015, which is a &#39;371 national stage entry of International Patent Application No. PCT/US2013/076558 entitled “Temporary Flexible Pavement Markers” filed Dec. 19, 2013, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/749,058 entitled “Temporary Flexible Pavement Markers” filed Jan. 4, 2013, the disclosures of which are wholly incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The application relates to pavement markers. The application particularly relates to temporary flexible pavement markers. 
     BACKGROUND 
     During the course of highway construction and repair, it is sometimes necessary to route traffic over streets that are incomplete or undergoing reconstruction. During such operations, it is not unusual for accidents to occur in work zones where the edges of the traffic lanes are not clearly marked. This is especially true in the construction of new roads between the time that a subsurface is laid down and the final application of asphalt. 
     Even after asphalt is applied to a road surface, is not unusual for there to be a period of time between the application of the asphalt and the installation of permanent lane markers. One solution to this problem is the use of temporary pavement markers. It would be desirable in the art of highway construction and maintenance to be able to employ temporary flexible pavement markers that may be installed in a single step. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one aspect, the invention is a temporary flexible pavement marker comprising a base, a stand and a protective shield wherein at least part of the stand is reflective and the protective shield is configured to prevent materials sprayed down upon the temporary flexible pavement marker from obscuring the reflective part of the stand. 
     In another aspect, the invention is a method of constructing or repairing a road comprising using a temporary flexible pavement marker to delineate traffic lanes wherein the temporary pavement marker comprises a base, a stand and a protective shield and wherein at least part of the stand is reflective and the protective shield is configured to prevent materials sprayed down upon the temporary flexible pavement markers from obscuring the reflective part of the stand. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a detailed understanding of the present disclosure, reference should be made to the following detailed description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements have been given like numerals, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a side view illustration of a first embodiment of a temporary flexible pavement marker having an “L” base and a protective shield configured to protect the front side of the temporary flexible pavement marker; 
         FIG. 2  is a side view illustration of a second embodiment of a temporary flexible pavement marker similar to  FIG. 1  except the protective shield is configured to protect both the front and back of the temporary flexible pavement marker; 
         FIG. 3  is a side view illustration of a third embodiment of a temporary flexible pavement marker similar to that of  FIG. 2  except that this embodiment has a “T” base which also is equipped with ridges along the edge of the base; 
         FIG. 4  is a frontal view illustration of the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1  additionally showing a reflective surface; 
         FIG. 5  is an isometric view of an additional embodiment which is configured for one way traffic with an alternative configuration for two-way traffic also shown; and 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In one embodiment, the invention is a temporary flexible pavement marker comprising a base, a stand and a protective shield wherein at least part of the stand is reflective (either of itself or because of having a reflective tape attached thereto or a reflective paint applied thereof) and the protective shield is configured to prevent materials sprayed down upon the temporary flexible pavement marker from obscuring the reflective part of the stand. Turning to  FIG. 1 , a first exemplary configuration of a temporary flexible pavement marker  100  is illustrated in a side view showing a protective shield  101 , a stand  102  and a base  103 . In this configuration, the base is in an “L” configuration. 
     In  FIG. 2 , a second exemplary configuration is shown wherein the temporary flexible pavement marker  200  is substantially similar to the configuration in  FIG. 1  except that the protective shield  201  is configured to protect both sides of the temporary flexible pavement marker. 
     In  FIG. 3 , a third exemplary configuration a temporary flexible pavement marker  300  is shown which is substantially similar to that illustrated in  FIG. 2  except that the base  303  is extended into an inverted “T.” Additionally the edges of the base have been modified into a ridge  304 . In some end uses of the temporary flexible pavement markers of the application, it may be desirable to retain a fluid such as tar or asphalt in order to improve the adhesion of the temporary flexible pavement marker to the pavement. The presence of ridges serves to facilitate the retention of fluid. 
       FIG. 4  is a frontal view of the temporary marker  400  illustrated in  FIG. 1 . Note that a reflective surface  401  is also illustrated in this figure. 
     In yet another embodiment, a temporary pavement marker  500  is shown in  FIG. 5 . In this embodiment, the protective shield  201  is similar to that of  FIG. 2 . The stand  102  is as described above in  FIG. 1 , except that it has been modified to include a secondary protective rib  504  to prevent back splashing from the surface of the road. The protective rib  504  may extend a protective rib width  506  from the stand  102 . Also illustrated is an adhesive layer  502  applied to the base  503 . 
       FIG. 6  is a side view of the temporary flexible pavement marker illustrated in  FIG. 5 . In this view, it can be seen that there are two reflective elements ( 501 A and  501 B) on the stand between the protective shield and secondary rib. As illustrated, this embodiment having reflective elements on both sides would be typical of those used for two-way traffic. In an alternative embodiment, reflective element  501 B would not be present and the resulting temporary flexible pavement marker having a reflective element on one side would be typical of those markers used for one way traffic. 
     The temporary flexible pavement markers of the application may be prepared using any material known to be useful to those of ordinary skill in the art of making such items. For example, they may be prepared using plastics and/or metal. When the markers are made of plastic, the plastic used maybe one selected from the group consisting of: polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, copolymers of polyethylene and polypropylene, and combinations thereof. Other plastics may also be used. Useful metals include, but are not limited to, aluminum, spring steel, and the like. In some embodiments, the markers may be prepared using composites of metal and plastics. 
     In one embodiment, the point of intersection of the base and the stand is a living hinge. In another embodiment, the entire stand is flexible. No matter what material is used to construct the temporary flexible pavement markers, the markers are configured such that when they are run over by an automobile, the material will rebound substantially to its original configuration so that the reflective surface will be visible to drivers. 
     The dimensions of the temporary flexible pavement markers of the application may be any that are useful for delineating traffic lanes. In some embodiments, the markers are 4 inches wide and 2 inches high. In these embodiments, a base in the “L” configuration may be from 1 to 2 inches wide while a base in a “T” configuration may be from 1.5 to 4 inches wide. In many venues, the governmental entity having responsibility for the maintenance and construction of highways may have a specification regarding such dimensions. 
     The stand of the temporary flexible pavement markers is at least partially reflective. In some embodiments, the reflective portion of the stand is prepared by applying thereto a reflective tape or a reflective paint. In other embodiments, the stand itself is reflective. For the purposes of this application the term “reflective” means that the subject surface is either retro reflective or prismatic to the extent that the temporary flexible pavement markers are sufficiently responsive to automobile headlights to safely delineate a traffic lane at night or other dark driving conditions. 
     The temporary flexible pavement markers of the application have a protective shield. The purpose of this protective shield is to prevent or at least mitigate fluids such as asphalt or tar from obscuring the reflective surface of the stand during spraying. Such spraying occurs both in initial construction and in repairing roads. 
     During the repair or construction of a road, a subsurface is first prepared. Often asphalt is applied and then gravel is spread upon the road subsurface and fixed in place by the asphalt. In one embodiment of the method of the application, a temporary flexible pavement marker is placed upon the subsurface, next a spray of asphalt is applied and then gravel is spread on the road partially or fully covering the base of the temporary marker. 
     The asphalt spraying procedure is comparatively slow which results in the asphalt being sprayed nearly straight down. All of the figures show that the protective shield is angled down. That is, the protective shield is angled downwards towards the ground when the base of the temporary flexible pavement marker is positioned on a road surface. In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the orientation of the protective shield may be perpendicular to the stand. The width of the protective shield for a four inch by 2-inch temporary pavement marker, may be from ½ to 1 inch. These dimensions may be scaled for temporary flexible pavement markers having different overall dimensions. 
     The temporary flexible pavement markers of the application may be configured to be reflective on one side or two sides. The markers reflective on one side would be useful for one way traffic while the markers being reflective on both sides could be used for two-way traffic. It is also within the scope of the application that the markers be color coded in accordance with local ordinances to indicate one way or two-way traffic. For example, for one way traffic, the marker could be white and for two-way traffic, yellow. 
     The temporary flexible pavement markers of the application represent a substantial improvement over the prior art. Prior art markers included protective layers that had to be removed after a spraying operation. In such situations, a technician was required to bend down or bend over to remove the protective layer from each marker. Since the number of markers employed in such operations may range from 500 to several thousand per mile, the cost for this was not insignificant. 
     In addition to the elements are described, the temporary flexible pavement markers of the application may be prepared with any additional element known to be useful to those of ordinary skill in the art of making such objects. For example, in one embodiment, the temporary flexible pavement markers may have an adhesive applied to the bottom of the base. In most applications, the adhesive is a tacky adhesive and the protected from getting dirty by use of a paper or plastic tape.