SNOWPLOWABLE ROAD MARKER
An improved casting for a road marker having a reflector and a method of installation for the road marker are disclosed. The method of installation includes forming a groove that has a rectangular geometry when view from above and is longitudinal oriented parallel to the direction of the road. The groove can also have a deeper section at the center with the same geometry of the groove but with a bigger radius to receive one or more legs from the road marker of the present invention.
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This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/522,894 filed Aug. 12, 2011, which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONIt is known to help delineate lanes on a road with the use of markers having retro reflective lenses. The lenses reflect light from a vehicle's headlights. Typically the markers are adhered to the road top with an adhesive such as bituminous. In areas where snowplows are used to remove snow from the road, it is known to mount the marker in a metal casting which in turn is mounted into a recess in the road surface. The casting has rails which extend above the marker on either side of the reflector to lift the snowplow blade over the road marker and prevents the marker from being dislodged from the road. The recess can be a groove which is formed in the road with an abrasive wheel. The groove generally has a rectangular geometry and is longitudinally oriented parallel to the direction of the road. The cross section of the groove, defined by a view normal to a cut plane normal to the road and parallel to the direction of travel on the road, is a convex arc which is closed at its ends by surfaces that are normal to the road surfaces. In some cases, castings have been dislodged from the road by the passing of a snowplow blade. In prior devices, when a casting is pushed by a snowplow blade, the curved bottom of the groove does not offer resistance to the forces of the snowplow and slides from the groove, thereby detaching the casting from the road surface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAn improved casting for a road marker having a reflector and a method of installation for the road marker are disclosed. The method of installation includes forming a groove that has a rectangular geometry when view from above and is longitudinal oriented parallel to the direction of the road. The cross section of the groove, defined by a view normal to an imaginary cut plane normal to the road and normal to the direction of travel of the road is an arc having the convexity at the bottom and closed its ends by a straight line that is coplanar to the road surface offering thus perpendicular planes to the direction of the road in the groove. The groove can also have a deeper section at the center with the same geometry of the groove but with a bigger radius to receive one or more legs from the road marker of the present invention. The legs can increase the mechanical anchoring and reaction forces which oppose the force of the snowplow blade. As set forth more fully below, the longitudinal groove extends axially between a pair of vertically disposed ends. The road marker casting can have an arcuate surface which extends between a pair of end surfaces. The end surfaces of the casting abut the ends of the groove formed in the road to assist in preventing a snowplow blade or tire of a passing vehicle from dislodging the casting. The center groove is deeper than the longitudinal groove and is formed to accept the legs from the casting. The method reduces the likelihood of dislodgement of the casting from the road.
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Thus, is disclosed is a novel snowplowable marker and method of operation. The marker is mounted to resist displacement from the road surface.
The foregoing description is illustrative of particular embodiments of the invention, but is not meant to be a limitation upon the practice thereof. The following claims, including all equivalents thereof, are intended to define the scope of the invention.
Claims
1) A base for a snowplowable roader marker for securing a reflector and having a longitudinal axis, the base comprising:
- a top surface;
- a bottom surface;
- at least one leg extending outwardly from the bottom surface, the at least one leg being perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the base.
2) The base for a snowplowable road marker of claim 1 wherein the one or more legs comprise a center leg and a plurality of transverse legs.
3) The base for a snowplowable road marker of claim 2 wherein the center leg extends further from the base than the transverse legs.
4) The base for a snowplowable road marker of claim 2 wherein the transverse legs and center leg are connected at the bottom surface by a flange, the flange being perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the base.
5) The base for a snowplowable road marker of claim 4 wherein the transverse legs and center leg extend from the flange in a radial manner.
6) The base for a snowplowable road maker of claim 1 further comprising:
- a plurality of tabs, the tabs extending from a perimeter of the base;
- wherein the tabs rest on top of the road to which the maker is to be installed.
7) The base for a snowplowable road marker of claim 1 wherein the top surface has a pair of rails running outside an area in which the reflector can be installed.
8) The base for a snowplowable road marker of claim 7 wherein the rails are wider near an end of the base and increasingly narrow towards a middle of the base.
9) The base for a snowplowable road marker of claim 8 wherein the bottom surface has a plurality of recesses, the recesses being deeper under the rails of the top surface.
10) The base for a snowplowable road marker of claim 1 wherein the bottom surface has a generally arcuate shape, with the curve of the arcuate shape being normal to the longitudinal axis of the base.
11) A method for installing a marker in a road surface, the method comprising:
- providing a road surface, a road marker, and an adhesive;
- cutting a longitudinal groove in the road surface, the groove having a longitudinal axis running parallel to a direction of travel of the road surface;
- cutting a center groove in the longitudinal groove, the center groove extending deeper in the road surface than the longitudinal groove, the center groove having a longitudinal axis parallel to the direction of travel of the road surface;
- attaching the road marker to the road surface in the longitudinal groove and center groove with the adhesive.
12) The method of claim 11 wherein the longitudinal groove and the center groove are cut as part of a single operation.
13) The method of claim 11 wherein the longitudinal groove and the center groove have an arcuate cross sectional profile, the profile being perpendicular to the direction of travel of the road surface.
14) The method of claim 11 wherein the longitudinal groove is approximately 2 centimeters deep.
15) The method of claim 11 wherein the center groove is approximately 4 centimeters deep.
16) The method of claim 11 wherein the center groove is twice as deep as the longitudinal groove.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 10, 2012
Publication Date: Aug 8, 2013
Applicant: Tecknotraffic Inc. (Houston, TX)
Inventors: Daniel De Jesús Chavarria Marroquín (San Nicolas De Los Garza), Yadhira Cruz Farias (Veracruz), Sergio Damián Amaya González (Monterrey)
Application Number: 13/572,148
International Classification: E01F 9/06 (20060101);