Device for Patterning Surface Coatings Applied on Pavement Surfaces

Abstract

Automatically patterning a surface coating applied to a pavement surface without the need to place, remove and continuously clean stencils. The automatic patterning is provided by a matrix of interspersed spray nozzles arranged on parallel bars. Each of the plurality of spray nozzles is capable of blasting out a gas or liquid at the surface coating to create grout lines in the surface coating, where the grout lines form patterns in the surface coating. An actuator is utilized to move the parallel bars back and forth in a first direction while a vehicle traverses the surface coating in a second direction. The combination of the movement provided by the actuator and the movement provided by the vehicle is used to create the direction, angle and length of the grout lines and the patterns formed.

Description

BACKGROUND

[0001] Pavement surfaces, such as asphalt and concrete, are used to carry traffic, including vehicles (e.g., automobiles, bikes, construction equipment) and humans. The pavement surfaces may have surface coatings (thin overlays) provided thereover for any number of reasons, including but not limited to, pavement surface preservation, solar heat reflectivity, markings, high friction coatings, and repairs to the underlying surface.

[0002] Various different surface coatings may be utilized, including but not limited to, polymer coatings (e.g., epoxies), paints, asphalt, asphalt based products (e.g., chip sealing), coal tar, concrete, concrete based products and polymer modified products (e.g., polymer modified concretes). The different surface coatings (overlays) may be selected based on various parameters including, but not limited to, the purpose of the overlay (e.g., marking, friction, preservation), underlying pavement surface, regulations (e.g., environmental, safety), cost, and longevity.

[0003] The surface coating and the underlying pavement substrate (both asphalt and concrete) may be thermally incompatible. The thermal incompatibility may lead to the layers flexing, expanding and the like at different times and to different degrees. This may cause delamination of the surface coating from the underlying pavement surface, damage to the overlay and/or damage to the underlying pavement surface.

[0004] In order to reduce the effect of the thermal incompatibility, the continuous amount of surface area where the two layers overlap may be limited. The limited overlap limits the strain caused from the thermal incompatibility from building up between the two surfaces. Limiting the amount of continuous surface area may be accomplished by patterning the surface coating (overlay) so that uniform gullies (e.g., grout lines) are located between the patterns. The use of patterns and gullies limits the amount of continuous contact between the two layers to the patterns formed in the surface coating. The thermally developed strain that may build up between a pattern in the surface coating and the underlying pavement surface may be relieved at the location of the gullies. Limiting the accumulation of strain may prevent delamination and stress to the underlying pavement surface that can cause cracking and eventually failure of the pavement surface.

[0005] A shrinkage crack that develops in the underlying pavement surface, will likely form in the gulley (may be limited to forming in the gulley). Limiting the damage (e.g., cracks) to the pavement surface to within the gullies may prevent future more severe damage to the surface coating and thereby failure of the pavement surface. Additionally a crack formed within a gully will not be felt by traffic traversing the riding surface or be visually seen.

[0006] To pattern any surface coating requires the use of stencils. The placement, removal and then continuous cleaning of the stencils significantly increases the time and expense to produce a patterned surface. The use of short or long bristle brooms, serrated forms, or any other objects to mark the surface coating to create a patterned surface will disrupt the formation of the surface coating and possibly compromise its short and long term durability. What is needed is an automated means for providing a patterned surface coating that does not require the placement, removal and continuous cleaning of the stencils.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The features and advantages of the various embodiments will become apparent from the following detailed description in which:

[0008] FIG. 1A illustrates a functional diagram of an example device utilized to create patterns in a surface coating, according to one embodiment;

[0009] FIG. 1B illustrates a system diagram of an example device utilized to create patterns in a surface coating, according to one embodiment; and

[0010] FIGS. 2A-H illustrate movement of example spray bars over a surface coating to create example patterns therein, according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] The current invention provides the surface coating (overlay) onto the pavement surface as it would be if the surface coating was not to be patterned. The surface coating may be provided by various methods known to those skilled in the art, including, but not limited to, spaying, pouring, and spreading. The surface coating may be provided in relatively small batches or may be provided in large batches. The surface coating may be manually applied with, for example, hand carried sprayers or by pouring the coating onto the pavement surface and spreading and smoothing it out with, for example, a squeegee. The surface coating may be applied using large machines that, for example, spray, pour or provide the surface coating onto the pavement surface. The surface coating may be smoothed and leveled after application using various means known to those skilled in the art including, but not limited to, dragging an extrusion blade over the surface coating, using a squeegee, and rolling over it with a steam roller or the like. The thickness of the surface coating (thin overlay) may vary depending on the surface coating that is utilized.

[0012] Once the surface coating starts to cure, but before it has hardened, the patterns may formed in the surface coating using equipment to remove or displace the surface coating from where the gullies are to be formed. The amount of curing that needs to take place before the patterns may be formed is based on the surface coating that is being applied. Some surface coatings may need to fairly well cured before the patterning begins while others may require minimal curing. The amount of time that it takes to be cured to an appropriate level may vary greatly depending on the surface coating. For example, some surface coatings may be capable of being patterned immediately after application while others may need to wait several minutes or longer.

[0013] Some surface coatings that are to be patterned may include a topical aggregate. The topical aggregate may be applied before the patterning or after the patterning. The determination of whether to pattern before or after application of the topical aggregate may be based on various parameters including but not limited to, the cure time of the surface coating, where in the curing cycle the aggregate can be applied versus where in the curing cycle the patterns can be formed, how well the aggregate adheres to the surface coating, and whether the aggregate needs to be pushed into the surface coating.

[0014] The surface coating may be patterned using a series of spray nozzles that blast a gas or a liquid onto the surface coating to create gullies (areas where the surface coating is not located) therein and thus providing the surface coating with a plurality of patterns (where the patterns are not connected to one another).

[0015] FIG. 1A illustrates a functional diagram of an example device 100 utilized to create patterns in a surface coating. The device includes a vehicle 110, spray nozzles 120, gas or fluid storage 130, a pump 140, a motor 150, an actuator 160, a user interface 170 and a processor 180. The vehicle 110 is a capable of holding the equipment necessary for forming the patterns and allowing the equipment to be moved along the pavement surface that the surface coating has been applied to in order to form the patterns. In a preferred embodiment, the vehicle 110 is some sort of motorized vehicle that can be moved, and possibly driven, in the appropriate direction. According to one embodiment, the vehicle 110 may be specifically for patterning the surface coating at some point in time after the surface coating has been applied. According to one embodiment, the vehicle 110 may be the same vehicle that is utilized to apply the surface coating.

[0016] The spray nozzles 120 are utilized to blast a gas or a liquid onto the surface coating to create gullies therein. The spray nozzles 120 are capable of focusing the gas or liquid at a particular area so that the surface coating at the point of impact is blown out or is displaced. The spray nozzles 120 may be capable of adjusting the size of the stream in order to adjust the size of the gully that is created. The spray nozzles 120 may be moved around so as to create the desired gullies and patterns. The gas or fluid storage 130 is to store the gas or fluid that is blasted from the spray nozzles 120. The pump 140 is to provide the gas or fluid from the storage 130 to the spray nozzles 120. The motor 150 is to drive the actuator 160 and the actuator 160 is to move the spray nozzles 120 so that the patterns may be formed. It should be noted that not all actuators 160 require the motor 150 to function so that the motor 150 is actually optional.

[0017] The user interface 170 is to communicate with a user (e.g., operator) of the device 100. The communications may include receiving instructions regarding the type of patterns to be formed in the surface coating. The instructions may include, for example, the shape and size of the patterns. The patterns may include shapes that may be formed by grout lines that traverse the surface coating parallel to the direction the device 100 is moving and the surface coating has been applied as well as at different acute angles to the direction of the device 100. The angles may be formed by moving the spray nozzles 120 perpendicular to the direction the vehicle 110 is moving (e.g., from side to side as the vehicle moves forward). Grout lines perpendicular to the direction of the device 100 could only be created if the vehicle 110 stopped moving and the spray nozzles 120 were moved perpendicular. The user interface 170 may provide the user with a list of potential shapes and sizes that can be created.

[0018] The processor 180 is to control the operation of the device 100. The processor 180 may control the operation of the device 100 based on the communications from the user. For example, the processor 180 may determine how to create the patterns desired by the user and control the operation of the pump 140, the actuator 160 the spray nozzles 120 and/or the vehicle 110 in order to create the patterns. The processor 180 may determine the direction and speed of the actuator 160 and direct the actuator 160 accordingly. The processor 180 may determine the speed at which the vehicle 110 should proceed and direct the vehicle 110 accordingly. The processor 180 may determine the quantity and/or rate that the gas or fluid should be provided and instruct the pump 140 accordingly. The processor 180 may determine the spray nozzles 120 that need to be activated and the size of the stream that should be provided thereby (e.g., to form the desired size of the grout lines) and instruct the spray nozzles 120 accordingly.

[0019] The user interface 170 may be any type of device that is capable of receiving information from a user, including but not limited to, a keyboard or a touch screen. According to one embodiment, the user interface 170 may be an external device that is capable of communicating with the device 100 (e.g., providing instructions to the processor 180). The external device may be, for example, a computer, tablet, smart phone or the like. The external device may, for example, utilize an app running thereon to provide communications with the processor 180 or may log into a program running on the processor 180. According to one embodiment, the processor 180 may be provided by the external device and the external processor 180 may provide the instructions to the various components (e.g., spray nozzles 120, pump 140, actuator 160, vehicle 110).

[0020] FIG. 1B illustrates a system diagram of an example device 100 utilized to create patterns in a surface coating. A vehicle 110 is equipped with the gas or fluid storage 130, the pump 140 and the actuator 160 and optionally the motor 150 if required to drive the actuator 160. The spray nozzles 120 are mounted on a pair of parallel bars 210, 220 with each of the bars 210, 220 having a plurality of the spray nozzles 120. The spray nozzles 120 are located at defined intervals from each other on the bars 210, 220. The spray nozzles 120 on a first bar 210 are offset from the spray nozzles 120 on a second bar 220. As illustrated, the offset in the spray nozzles 120 is accomplished by offsetting the bars 210, 220. It should be noted that the offset could be accomplished in other ways including the location of the spray nozzles 120 on the bars 210, 220.

[0021] The bars 210, 220 may simply be for mounting the spray nozzles 120 or may also be for providing the gas or fluid thereto. The pump 140 may pump the liquid or gas from the storage 130 and provide it the bars 210, 220 via a conduit 194. The conduit 194 is illustrated as an arrow and can be any of various types of conduit that would be known to those skilled in the art, including but not limited to hoses, tubs and pipes. According to one embodiment, the conduit 194 should be flexible conduit.

[0022] The bars 210, 220 may be capable of restricting the flow the gas or fluid to specific spray nozzles 120. The bars 210, 220 may be connected to one another using one or more connection devices 190. The connection devices 190 may be any number of connection devices that would be known to those skilled in the art. The distance between the bars 210, 220 may be configurable. The distance may be modified by adjusting the connection devices 190. The distance may be modified manually by a user or automatically by the processor 180 based on instructions related to the patterns to be formed.

[0023] The bars 210, 220 may be mounted to the vehicle 110 using one or more connection devices 192. The connection devices 192 may be any number of connection devices that would be known to those skilled in the art. The connection devices 192 may be connected to the actuator 160 that enables the bars 210, 220 to be moved from side to side. The bars 210, 220 may be mounted to any number of locations on the vehicle 110 including but not limited to, the front, the back or underneath the vehicle 110.

[0024] It should be noted that if the vehicle 110 providing the patterning is the same as the vehicle applying the surface coating that the bars 210, 220 would have to extend from the back of the vehicle so that the patterning would be provided after the surface coating was applied. The distance from the back of the vehicle would be based on the speed of the vehicle and the cure rate of the surface coating.

[0025] It should also be noted that if the vehicle 110 providing the patterning is a different vehicle that the vehicle is going to have to have a wheel base that is larger than the surface coating so that the wheels would not impact the uncured surface coating that was being patterned.

[0026] According to one embodiment, the device 100 may include an inline heater (not illustrated) to heat the liquid or gas in order to improve definition of the grout lines and patterns by aiding in the cure of the surface coating. According to one embodiment, fine micron filters (not illustrated) may be utilized in the conduit 194 to prevent the gas or liquid from being contaminated and/or to prevent contaminated gas or liquid from being provided to the spay nozzles 120 as contamination may disrupt operations of the nozzles 120 and/or effect the grout lines formed or provide the containments to the surface coating.

[0027] FIGS. 2A-H illustrate movement of example bars 210, 220 over a surface coating 200 to create example patterns therein. The bars 210, 220 each include a plurality of spray nozzles 120. The first bar 210 and the second bar 220 are configured to be parallel to one another and are separated by a certain distance. The distance that the bars 210, 220 are separated by may be set or may be configurable. The configuration of the bars 210, 220 with respect to one another is such that the spray nozzles 120 on the first bar 210 are offset from the spray nozzles 120 on the second bar 220. The connections 190, 192, the actuator 160 (and optionally the motor 150), the storage 130, the pump 140, the conduit 194 and the vehicle 110 are not included for ease of illustration. The bars 210, 220 are moved forward as the vehicle 110 they are mounted to moves forward (to the right as illustrated). The bars 210, 220 are also capable of being actuated back and forth (up and down as illustrated) as the vehicle 110 they are mounted to moves forward.

[0028] FIG. 2A illustrates the bar 210 initially being placed at the beginning of the surface coating 200 with the bar 220 being set behind the surface coating 200. FIG. 2B illustrates the bars 210, 220 having been actuated sideways in a first direction (downward as illustrated) at the same time that they are moved forward (to the right as illustrated) by the vehicle 110 they are mounted to. The result is the bars 210, 220 have been moved diagonally downward from where they were. Both the current and previous location of the bars 210, 220 are illustrated with the previous location of the bars 210, 220 being illustrated in gray shading. The result of the movement of the bar 210 is that grout lines 240 are formed in the surface coating 200. It should be noted that the grout lines 240 are angled at approximately 45 degrees. Such an angle may be created by having the actuator 160 move the bars 210, 220 to the side (downward as illustrated) at the same rate as the vehicle is moving forward (to the right as illustrated). It should be noted that in FIG. 2B the movement of the bar 220 does not have any impact on the surface coating 200 as it has still not reached the beginning thereof.

[0029] FIG. 2C illustrates the actuator 160 not moving the bars 210, 220 so that the only movement of the bars 210, 220 is the forward movement provided by the vehicle 110. This forward movement has bar 210 creating grout lines 250 that are parallel to the direction of the vehicle 110. The movement of the bar 220 does not have any impact on the surface coating 200 as it has still not reached the beginning thereof. FIG. 2D illustrates the bars 210, 220 having been actuated sideways in a second direction (upward as illustrated) at the same time that they are moved forward by the vehicle 110. The result is the bars 210, 220 have been moved diagonally upward (e.g., 45 degrees) from where they were. The bar 210 has provided angled grout lines 260 while the bar 220 has provided angled grout lines 270. The angled grout lines 260, 270 are parallel to each other and form different sides of the patterns (e.g., hexagon) being generated.

[0030] FIG. 2E illustrates the actuator 160 not moving the bars 210, 220 so that the only movement of the bars 210, 220 is the forward movement provided by the vehicle 110. This forward movement has bar 210 creating grout lines 280 and bar 220 creating grout lines 290 that are both parallel to the direction of the vehicle 110. It should be noted that the grout lines 290 formed by the bar 220 overlap with the grout lines 250 previously provided by the bar 210. According to one embodiment, rather than create a grout line twice the spray nozzles 120 may be turned off for the bar 220 during this forward moving period so that grout lines 290 are not formed. Alternatively, the spray nozzles 120 may have been turned off for the bar 210 during the previous forward moving period so that grout lines 250 were not formed. As one skilled in the art would recognize, the grout lines formed by the bars 210, 220 during these only forward movement periods are going to overlap each period. Accordingly, one of the bars 210, 220 may be deactivated for these periods.

[0031] FIG. 2F illustrates the bars 210, 220 having been actuated sideways in the first direction (downward as illustrated) at the same time that they are moved forward by the vehicle 110. The result is the bars 210, 220 have been moved diagonally downward (e.g., 45 degrees) from where they were. The bar 210 has provided angled grout lines 300 while the bar 220 has provided angled grout lines 310. The angled grout lines 300, 310 are parallel to each other and form different sides of the patterns (e.g., hexagon) being generated. It should be noted that a first row 320 of patterns (e.g., hexagons) 330 has now been formed in the surface coating 200 by the grout lines 240, 250 (and/or 290), 260, 270 and 310.

[0032] FIG. 2G illustrates the actuator 160 not moving the bars 210, 220 so that the only movement of the bars 210, 220 is the forward movement provided by the vehicle 110. This forward movement has the bar 210 creating grout lines 340 and/or the bar 220 creating grout lines 350. FIG. 2H illustrates the bars 210, 220 having been actuated sideways in the second direction (upward as illustrated) at the same time that they are moved forward by the vehicle 110. The result is the bars 210, 220 have been moved diagonally upward (e.g., 45 degrees) from where they were. The bar 210 has provided angled grout lines 360 while the bar 220 has provided angled grout lines 370. The angled grout lines 360, 370 are parallel to each other and form different sides of the patterns (e.g., hexagon) being generated. It should be noted that a second row 380 of patterns (e.g., hexagons) 330 has now been formed in the surface coating 200 by the grout lines 260, 280 (and/or 350), 300, 310 and 370. The second row 380 of patterns 330 is offset from the first row 320 of patterns 330 such that, for example, a lower left leg of the second row 380 of patterns overlaps with an upper right leg of the first row 320 of patterns 330, and an upper left leg of the second row 380 of patterns overlaps with a lower right leg of the first row 320 of patterns 330.

[0033] The movements of the bars 210, 220 described about with regard to FIGS. 2A-2H continues until the patterning of the surface coating 200 is complete. The time that the actuator 160 is on and the rate that it operates can be calculated based on the pattern to be created in the surfacing coating 200. For example, for the hexagon shape the rate the actuator 160 operates should be the same rate as the vehicle is moving forward to create the 45 degree angle. The time that the actuator 160 is on is not dependent on the speed of the vehicle. For example, in order to create the hexagon the time that the actuator 160 is moving in the first direction (downward as illustrated) should be the same as the time that it moves in the second direction (upward as illustrated). The time that the actuator 160 is off should be the square root of 2 (1.414) times the amount of time it is moving in either direction on geometry of a 45 degree right triangle.

[0034] It should be noted that the size of the patterns (e.g., hexagons) 330 created can be modified based on various parameters including but not limited to, the spacing between the bars 210, 220, the distance that the bars 210, 220 are actuated upward and downward, the distance between spray nozzles 120 activated, and the amount of time (distance) that the bars 210, 220 are not actuated. It is also possible to form different sized patterns (e.g., hexagons) 330 at different locations by controlling the spray nozzles 120 activated. It is also possible to form other shapes (e.g., parallelograms) based on the various parameters noted above including not having periods where the bars 210, 220 are not actuated (where the grout lines parallel to the direction of the vehicle 110 are formed).

[0035] The material that is displaced by the spray nozzles 120 as the grout lines are being formed may be an issue if it falls back in the grout lines or if it lands on other portions of the surface coating 200 and makes the surface coating 200 uneven. Accordingly, the device 100 may include some type of netting to try and catch the surface coating 200 that is blown out.

[0036] Although the invention has been illustrated by reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent that the invention is not limited thereto as various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope. Reference to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described therein is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" appearing in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

[0037] The various embodiments are intended to be protected broadly within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising a first plurality of spray nozzles aligned at defined intervals along a first plane; a second plurality of spray nozzles aligned at defined intervals along a second plane that is parallel to the first plane, wherein the second plurality of spray nozzles are offset from the first plurality of spray nozzles, wherein each of the first plurality of spray nozzles and the second plurality of spray nozzles is capable of blasting out a material at a surface coating that has been applied on a pavement surface to create grout lines in the surface coating, wherein the grout lines provide patterns in the surface coating; an actuator capable of moving the first plurality of spray nozzles and the second plurality of spray nozzles back and forth along the first plane and the second plane; and a vehicle capable of moving in a direction perpendicular to the first plane and the second plane.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the material blasted out of the spray jets is a compressed gas.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the compressed gas is compressed air.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the material blasted out of the spray jets is a specialty liquid.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the patterns formed are hexagons.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of spray nozzles are mounted to a first bar and the second plurality of spray nozzles are mounted to a second bar.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first bar and the second bar are connected to the actuator.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first bar and the second bar are mounted below the vehicle.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first bar and the second bar are mounted to a rear of the vehicle.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising storage for storing the material that is to be blasted from the spray nozzles; a pump for pumping the material to the spray nozzles; and conduit for providing the material to the spray nozzles.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a processor for controlling operation of the apparatus.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a user interface for communicating with a user.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vehicle has a wheel base wider than the surface coating to be patterned.

14. An apparatus comprising a vehicle capable of moving in a first direction; a first bar having a plurality of spray nozzles mounted thereto at defined intervals, wherein the first bar is mounted to the vehicle in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction; a second bar having a plurality of spray nozzles mounted thereto at the defined intervals, wherein the second bar is mounted to the vehicle a defined distance from the first bar in the second direction, wherein the plurality of spray nozzles on the second bar are offset from the plurality of spray nozzles on the first bar, wherein each of the plurality of spray nozzles is capable of blasting out a material at a surface coating that has been applied on a pavement surface to create grout lines in the surface coating, wherein the grout lines provide patterns in the surface coating; an actuator capable of moving the first bar and the second bar back and forth along the second direction; storage for storing the material that is to be blasted from the spray nozzles; a pump for pumping the material to the spray nozzles; and conduit for providing the material to the spray nozzles.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the material blasted out of the spray jets is a compressed gas.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the material blasted out of the spray jets is a specialty liquid.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the patterns formed are hexagons.

18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first bar and the second bar are mounted below the vehicle.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first bar and the second bar are mounted to a rear of the vehicle.

20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the vehicle has a wheel base wider than the surface coating to be patterned.