Amerace Corporation

Stimsonite Corporation

Robert M Flanagan

Sidney A Heenan

Richard M Steere

Henry R Krepel

Ramon J Ascencio

A low-profile snowplowable pavement marker is disclosed including a base member and a retroreflector. The base member has two arcuate-bottom keel members interconnected by a support member. The upper surfaces of the keel members define inclined ramps. The spacing of inner surfaces of the ramps allows retroreflectance of oncoming light while accommodating larger plow blade angles encountered in higher speed plowing. The support member has a central planar support surface for carrying the retroreflector and upwardly facing curved top surfaces providing relief in the base member between the ramps and in front of the retroreflector to allow tires of approaching vehicles to wipe the lens assembly. The housing of the retroreflector is molded from long-glass-fiber-reinforced composite thermoplastic material with a recess for accommodating a retroreflective lens element of a different thermoplastic material.

Snowplowable pavement marker using different materials

A one-way snowplowable pavement marker having an auxiliary ramp at the front of a body portion connecting the spaced first and second primary ramps for supporting a snowplow blade tip when the tip is at angle up to 60.degree. from a line perpendicular to the direction of travel to protect a reflector in the marker. A cast-in-place shelf is formed behind the reflector for supporting the blade tip before and after it leaves the auxiliary ramp to prevent the reflector from being contacted by the snowplow blade.

One-way snowplowable pavement marker

A depressible roadway marker has an outer metal housing within which an elastomeric core is held. The core holds a retroreflective lens element above the level of the roadway which depresses into the metal housing when run over by a vehicle tire. The core includes a wiping element to scrub the lens element each time the core is depressed. The core includes structure to absorb the forces encountered during depression to reduce fatigue damage to the core.

Depressible roadway marker

A self-cleaning pavement marker adapted to be installed in a groove below the plane of the driving surface of an associated roadway to provide a retroreflective light signal visible to an oncoming vehicle. The marker comprises an integrally formed elastomeric body adapted to be positioned in a longitudinally extending groove cut in the roadway surface. The body includes an upper portion for receiving a retroreflective lens means. The lens means is effective a retroreflect light impinging upon its front face from an oncoming vehicle back toward the vehicle. The upper body portion of the marker is depressible between a normal position wherein the lens means is positioned below the plane of the associated roadway to retroreflect light impinging on the front face from an oncoming vehicle back toward the light source, and a depressed position caused by the force of a vehicle tire passing over the upper body portion. Wiping means is positioned below the plane of the associated roadway and is integrally formed with the body, and is positioned adjacent to the front face of the lens means, and is configured and arranged such that the wiping means does not interfere with the retroreflective function of the lens means when the body portion is in the normal position. Upon depression of the upper body portion to the depressed position, and its return to the normal reflecting position, the front face of the lens means moves past the wiping means and in direct contact therewith, whereby the wiping means effects a debris-cleaning and wiping function. The marker is effective as a snowplowable marker, particularly where studded tires are permitted.

Self cleaning pavement marker

A thin transparent glass sheet is bonded to the substantially flat planar front face of a cube-corner-type retrodirective reflector formed of a light-transmitting synthetic organic resin for covering at least the reflex reflective area thereof. A liquid urethane resin radiation curable to a transparent solid state is applied to the front face of the reflector and one side of the glass sheet is coated with a silane solution which is allowed to dry, and which side is then placed against the urethane resin on the reflector front face and pressed thereagainst until all air bubbles have been forced from the urethane resin and it has spread to a layer of predetermined thickness. The resulting laminate is preheated to a temperature approximating the maximum temperature expected to be experienced in use and then, while at the elevated temperature, the urethane resin layer is radiation cured, for bonding the glass sheet and the reflector together, curing at this temperature causing the adhesive to set so that the glass will be under compression when the laminate is exposed to the working temperature range, and the laminate is then maintained at about 150.degree. for 30 to 60 minutes to enhance the chemical bonding of the silane to the glass and the adhesive.

Method for making an abrasion-resistant reflective marker

A reflector structure for reflecting light back toward the source thereof and adapted to be secured to an associated support surface, the reflector structure comprising a lens member of light-transmitting synthetic resin having a front face and a rear face. The lens member has a plurality of integrally formed retrodirective reflector elements formed in the rear face and extending outwardly therefrom. Each of the reflector elements in use is individually surrounded by a peripheral wall defining a cell around the individual reflector element. The peripheral walls extend between the plane of the rear face of the lens member and the plane of the associated support surface, the lens member being adapted to be sealed to the associated support surface. In a preferred embodiment the peripheral walls are formed in the lens member, which may be incorporated as part of a pavement marker whereby the peripheral walls defining individual cells significantly increase the impact resistance of the marker while eliminating the need for metallizing and filling of the marker.

Reflector structure

Snowplowable roadway marker

Highway delineator

A reflective roadway delineator for reflecting incident light directed thereon by an oncoming vehicle back to the vehicle, the delineator being capable of being mounted upon either a roadway barrier having a planar longitudinally extending surfaces thereon or in the generally U-shaped trough of a longitudinally extending highway guard rail. The delineator comprises a base member having at least two different mounting surfaces thereon. One of the surfaces is engageable with and complementary to a planar surface of the associated barrier and the other of the surfaces is complementary to and engageable with at least one wall defining the recess of the trough in the associated guard rail. A reflex reflector is fixedly carried by the base member at predetermined angles relative to the mounting surfaces. The reflex reflector, the base member and the mounting surfaces are configurated and arranged such that the reflex reflector will be positioned at substantially the same operating angle relative to the longitudinal axis of either of the associated barrier or guard rail, regardless of whether the delineator is affixed to the barrier planar surface or in the trough of the guard rails. Means is associated with at least one of the mounting surfaces for securing the delineator to the respective associated guard rail or the associated barrier.

A low-profile snowplowable pavement marker includes a base member generally cylindrical in outline and adapted to be installed in a drilled recess in the pavement, and having a support surface disposed in use below the level of the roadway surface for supporting thereon a cube corner reflex type reflector assembly partially recessed below the roadway surface, the top surface of the base member defining an inclined ramp rising from the roadway surface at one end of the base member toward and above the reflector assembly for protecting same from contact with snowplow blades. A monodirectional marker has an annular base with the reflector assembly mounted along a sector thereof and with arcuate ramps. A bidirectional marker has two part-annular end portions intersecting at and interconnected by a central portion carrying the reflector, and arcuate ramps converging upwardly toward the reflector from both ends of the marker. Another bidirectional marker is disc-like in shape with a flat central support surface flanked by aligned straight ramps converging upwardly from opposite ends of the marker.

Snowplowable pavement marker and base member therefor

A snowplowable pavement marker (which may be of low profile) includes a metal base member having two arcuate-bottom keel members interconnected by an arcuate-bottom support member, the upper surfaces of the keel members respectively defining inclined ramps each having an inner edge and an outer edge respectively rising at different angles from a plane at one end of the base member toward the other end thereof to corresponding coplanar top surfaces, the support member having a support surface for supporting thereon a cube corner reflex reflector assembly. The keel members and the support member are respectively secured in complementary arcuate recesses cut in the pavement.

Growing community of inventors

Lincolnshire, IL, United States of America

Robert M Flanagan