Patent ID: 8061931

Claim:
A hot mix asphalt (HMA) paving system comprising: a paver comprising a right side surface contacting drive system and a left side surface contacting drive system; means for applying a first segment of a pre-coat of tack emulsion on a road surface immediately ahead of the paver, which paver is configured to apply a layer of HMA over the pre-coat of tack emulsion; means for spraying in a segmented pre-coat tack pattern, which does not extend substantially uninterrupted along a line behind the paver spanning from across the right side surface contacting drive system to an opposite side of the left side surface contacting drive system and still ahead of a point where HMA is unloaded and dropped down to the road surface; wherein the means for applying comprises a wheeled cart configured to be pushed by and in front of the paver; a heated reservoir of tack emulsion and a tack emulsion pump; a front tack spray bar coupled to and receiving heated tack emulsion from the tack emulsion pump, the front tack spray bar configured to spray tack emulsion in front of the paver; wherein the front tack spray bar sprays tack emulsion across the surface in front of the paver, but not substantially in front of portions of the surface over which the paver will contact the surface; wherein the front tack spray bar is a fixed central spray bar, and the system further comprises a variable width exterior spray bar configured to spray a tack coat substantially outside of a path of wheels of the paver; and wherein the variable width exterior spray bar is disposed above a central fixed catch basin which captures tack emulsion when sprayed from the variable width exterior spray bar when the variable width exterior spray bar is not fully deployed for a maximum tack coat spray pattern width.