Safety Device
Warning devices for use on construction sites and by police and firemen having luminescent segments to facilitate visibility on low light environments are disclosed herein.
This application is a nonprovisional application and claims no benefit of right of priority.
TECHNICAL FIELDExemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to novel safety devices. More particularly, exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to devices for personal safety having high visibility, highly reflective, and luminescent features.
BACKGROUND OF THE ARTIn developed countries, the construction industry represents six to nine percent of the gross domestic product. For example, in the 2015, the construction output of the United States was estimated to be approximately six hundred billion dollars. Thus, at any given time there are tens of thousands of ongoing construction projects. A major concern for any construction project is maintaining the safety of the workers and the public in and around the construction zone.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) both provide regulations for the safety or workers and the public. One such area that both OSHA and ANSI provide regulations is the warning of individuals as to areas or situations containing a possible hazard. Such warnings serve to prevent accidental entrance to the areas containing possible hazards resulting in enhanced general safety.
One such method of warning is the use of barricade tape. Although both OSHA and ANSI provide regulations for barricade tape, there are many different types of barricade tape, including caution tape, hazard tape, traffic control device tape, police tape, firefighter tape, etc. The OSHA and ANSI both provide for color schemes to indicate the nature of the hazard (e.g., yellow-black tape for physical hazard, white-blue tape for defective machinery).
Another safety device governed by OSHA and ANSI is rebar caps. On any construction project utilizing concrete, rebar may be exposed for extended periods of time. The exposed rebar posses a serious risk during any fall and typical coloration of rebar posses a threat to any individual walking through the construction zone. Accordingly, regulations have been put into place to place rebar caps over the ends of the exposed rebar to provide safety in the event of fall and to provide a visual warning as to the exposed rebar.
Safety fencing may also be employed on construction sites to warn individuals of potential dangers. Traditional safety fencing is temporary fencing having a large mesh design. Like other safety devices, safety fencing is usually a high visibility orange useful for use during daylight hours.
Although barricade tape, rebar caps, and safety fencing do provide some level of safety, it is far from adequate to protect both construction workers and other individuals present on the construction site. Specifically, traditional barricade tapes, rebar caps, and safety fencing provide little warning during the night when most construction sites are left unattended. Consequently, there is a need in the construction industry for safety devices that provide warning to individuals of hazardous areas or situations both during daylight hours and in the darkness of night.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIVE CONCEPTThe exemplary inventive safety devices described herein can be used to provide warnings of hazardous areas or situations to individuals in daylight as well as in darkness. The inventive barricade tape includes an elongated member made from either a synthetic or organic material. The synthetic materials may include thermoplastics, thermosets, resins and polymers. In an effort to remain conscious of the environment the organic material may be biodegradable. In order to provide visibility in dark environments the inventive warning tape includes luminescent features. The luminescence of the invention may be achieved by mixing a luminescent material in the material used to make the tape. In other embodiments, a luminescent coating may be applied to the tape to achieve the desired luminescence.
The inventive warning tape can be segmented into patterns to provide warning to individuals encountering the tape. The inventive tape may also include color coatings and highly reflective elements in order to allow the tape to be visible in a variety of lighting environments.
The advantages and other characteristics of the disclosed embodiments will be better understood when attention is directed to the accompanying drawings, wherein identical elements are identified with identical reference numerals and wherein:
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in greater detail. It should be recognized that the present invention can be practiced in a wide range of other embodiments besides those explicitly described, and the scope of the exemplary embodiments described are expressly not limited.
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To form the inventive barricade tape 5, the plastic material from which the barricade tape 5 is formed may be mixed with a luminescent material. The luminescent material may include calcium sulfide with strontium sulfide with bismuth as an activator, zinc sulfide with a copper activator, mixture of zinc sulfide and cadmium sulfide; strontium aluminate active with europium, or any other elements or combinations thereof producing luminescence in the barricade tape 5. One of ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that a variety of phosphors exist that may be used and incorporated into the plastic formulation. The luminescent material is added in sufficient quantities to supply the resulting barricade tape 5 with luminescence sufficient to be seen on a dark construction site.
In other exemplary embodiments of the barricade tape 5, the barricade tape 5 might be formed from the standard plastic and a phosphor may be mixed with a binder to form a paint or coating, which is then applied to at least a front surface 10 of the barricade tape 5 may be luminescent. Likewise, the phosphor coating may also be applied to the back surface 15 of the barricade tape 5. In this manner, both the front and back surfaces of the barricade tape 5. It should be understood by those of skill in the art that radioluminescent paints or coatings may be applied to the barricade tape 5. In still other exemplary embodiments, the back surface 15 of the barricade tape may be coated with an adhesive. The application of adhesive would allow the barricade tape to be applied to another surface to provide a warning signal. In embodiments with an adhesive, the release layer may cover the adhesive in order to allow the barricade tape 5 to be stored as a roll.
In order to increase the effectiveness of the warning provided by this invention, the barricade tape 20 may employ luminescence and highly reflective features. In order to provide increased visibility at night, segment 35 may be luminescent. The molding or coating processes as provided herein with respect to
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While the embodiments disclosed described the best modes known to the inventor at the time of filing, the scope of the invention is not to be limited to only the embodiments disclosed herein.
Claims
1. A warning device, comprising:
- an elongated member comprising a synthetic material, said elongated member having three parallel segments running longitudinally the length of the elongated member, said synthetic material selected from a group consisting of thermosets, thermoplastics and synthetic resins,
- wherein at least one parallel segment is a highly reflective material,
- wherein at least one segment is further segmented into alternating first and second angled stripes, said first angle stripe is luminescent.
2. The device of claim 1 further comprising a luminescent material added to said synthetic material sufficient to provide luminescence to said elongated member.
3. The device of claim 1, wherein said highly reflective material is a coating applied to the elongated member.
4. The device of claim 1, wherein said first angled stripe is a coating having luminescent properties.
5. The device of claim 1, wherein at least two parallel segments are highly reflective material.
6. The device of claim 5, wherein said two highly reflective segments are positioned along an edge respectively having the third segment interposed in between.
7. A warning device, comprising:
- an elongated member comprised of an elastic material;
- a luminescent material added to the elastic material sufficient to add luminescence to said elongated member; and
- an opaque coating applied to portions of said elongated member in a pattern sufficient to provide a warning, said coating having color pigments.
8. The device of claim 1, said elongated member further comprising:
- three parallel segments running longitudinally allow said elongated member, said segments including a first and third segment along edges of said elongated member and a second segment interposed between said first and third segments.
9. The device of claim 8, wherein said first and third segments are coated in a highly reflective material.
10. The device of claim 8, wherein said second segment includes a series of first and second angled stripes in an alternating pattern.
11. The device of claim 8, wherein said first and third segments are luminescent.
12. The device of claim 10, wherein said first angled stripes are luminescent.
13. The device of claim 12, wherein said second angled stripes are coated with an opaque material.
14. The device of claim 9, wherein said second segment is luminescent.
15. The device of claim 10, wherein said second segment includes a series of first and second angled stripes in an alternating pattern.
16. The device of claim 15, wherein said second angled stripes are coated with an opaque material.
17. The device of claim 16, wherein said luminescent material is selected from a group consisting of: calcium sulfide with strontium sulfide with bismuth as an activator;
- zinc sulfide with a copper activator; mixture of zinc sulfide and cadmium sulfide; and
- strontium aluminate active with europium.
18. A warning device, comprising:
- an elongated member comprised of an elastic material, said elongated member further comprising three parallel segments running longitudinally allow said elongated member, said segments including a first and third segment along edges of said elongated member and a second segment interposed between said first and third segments;
- a luminescent material added to the elastic material sufficient to add luminescence to said elongated member; and
- an opaque coating applied to portions of said elongated member in a pattern sufficient to provide a warning, said coating having color pigments,
- wherein said first and third segments are coated in a highly reflective material,
- wherein said second segment includes a series of first and second angled stripes in an alternating pattern,
- wherein said first angled stripes are luminescent,
- wherein said second angled stripes are coated with an opaque material.
19. The device of claim 16, wherein said luminescent material is selected from a group consisting of: calcium sulfide with strontium sulfide with bismuth as an activator; zinc sulfide with a copper activator; mixture of zinc sulfide and cadmium sulfide; and strontium aluminate active with europium.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 27, 2016
Publication Date: Jul 27, 2017
Inventor: Joseph Storts (Stoutsville, OH)
Application Number: 15/007,304