AU782672B2 - An improved method of providing a paved surface - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Applicant(s): ROBERT DARRYL PEAK Invention Title: AN IMPROVED METHOD OF PROVIDING A PAVED SURFACE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: -2- AN IMPROVED METHOD OF PROVIDING A PAVED SURFACE The present invention relates to a method of paving a surface using a pavement laying machine.

It has generally been considered that paved surfaces are not as economical to produce as bituminised surfaces. Machines for laying paving units to provide a paved surface, where the machine picks up a layer of paving units from a pallet, moves them into position and then lays them in place, are known in at least Europe. Such a machine is produced by Maschinenfabrik H. Kleinemas GmbH under the trade mark OPTIMUS. This laying machine enables relatively efficient laying of pavement. However, the overall process of providing the paved surface including the manufacture of the paving units must be efficient in order to economically compete with bituminised surfaces. Consideration has not previously been given to making the whole process more efficient. In particular, the process of providing a layer of paving units for paving by the above machine is a manual process and inefficient.

i Currently paving units are manufactured with the length of each elongate paving unit o* being horizontal. This limits the volume of production of the paving units. Furthermore, the manufactured paving units are usually packaged together in a cube shape consisting of four leaves, each leaf being bound together by a steel strap. The four leaves are packed together by other straps through voids in the leaves. The packaged paving units are then transported to the work site where the steel straps, binding the leaves together, are snapped so each leaf can be moved to the immediate area to be paved. Here the final straps are cut and each paving unit individually placed into position to form a harmonious consistent surface of paving.

o SoThe current method is slow and expensive. The current packaging using straps is also not suitable for use by a laying machine because of the voids. It is therefore desirable for an improved method of providing a paved surface that is economical and more competitive with bituminised surfaces.

3 It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.

According to the present invention there is provided an improved method of providing a paved surface including: manufacturing a plurality of elongate paving units by a method of manufacture that produces the units oriented with the length of each paving unit being vertical; packaging the plurality of paving units for transport, wherein the packaging includes a plurality of layers of paving units, each layer being suitable for a laying machine to use; and using a laying machine to lay each layer of paving units to form the paved surface.

Preferably, the manufacture of the paving units is one layer at a time. Preferably, the manufacture of the paving units is by vibratory compaction ofcementious material inside a o mould.

S 20 Preferably, the packaging of the layers of paving units includes stacking layers of paving units one on top of another to produce a package having a suitable number of layers.

Preferably, each paving unit has a width and a depth, the width being greater than the •depth. Preferably, the paving units are packaged so that the paving units are in a homogenous pattern. More preferably, widths of the paving units are packaged 25 substantially horizontal in the package. Preferably, the paving units are packaged so that 00o.

the depth of each paving unit is substantially vertical in the package.

Preferably, the method includes transporting the packaged paving units to the site that the paved surface is to be made.

Preferably, the laying machine lays a horizontal layer of paving units at once.

3A According to the present invention there is also provided a paved surface manufactured according to the above method.

Additionally, according to the present invention there is provided a package of paving units comprising a plurality of elongate paving units provided in layers with each layer being suitable for use by a laying machine without further manipulation of the paving units, wherein each layer comprises paving units manufactured by a process that orients the length of each unit to be substantially vertical.

In order to provide a better understanding, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an upper perspective view of a prior art layer of paving units with the

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*ooo *ooo *oo o length of each paving unit being horizontal; Figure 2 is an upper perspective view of a prior art pallet for packaged paving units held together by straps, Figure 3 is an upper perspective view of a layer of paving units with the length of each paving unit being vertical for use in the present invention; and Figure 4 is an upper perspective view of a pallet of paving units for use in the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a plurality of paving bricks shown as they are manufactured in a horizontal fashion. Paving bricks are usually manufactured from vibratory hydraulic pressure compression of concrete in a mould. The inventor has identified that producing bricks in a horizontal fashion is one of the inefficiencies in the whole process of manufacturing the bricks through to laying the paved surface. An insufficient number of bricks are manufactured in a give amount of time.

Referring to Figure 2, the manufactured bricks, once cured, are packaged into a cubed shape as shown in Figure 2 for transport to a work site. The package usually consists of four leaves of bricks. Each leaf is held together by a strap. The leaves also have a pair of voids that are used to lift each leaf. The four leaves are held together by further steel 20 straps (not shown) that pass through the voids and over the top of the package.

This form of packaged brick, while common, is not suitable for the use of a laying machine for laying the bricks into the paved surface. This is because of the voids. A brick o••o laying machine is not able to pick up the horizontal layers of bricks because the voids 25 break up the layer.

In order to provide a cost effective paved surface, the whole process from the manufacture *i of the bricks through to the packaging, transport and method of laying the bricks was examined by the inventor to determine what changes could be made in order to make the cost of paved surfaces more competitive with a bituminised surface. Once the analysis had identified weaknesses in the current methods the inventor was then able to devise the method of the present invention, which results in a more cost effective method, so much so, that paved surfaces can now be seen to compete against bituminised surfaces. The advantage that paved roads provide can then be enjoyed to a greater extent since they are close to the cost of producing bitumen surfaces.

The preferred form of the method of the present invention includes manufacturing the paving bricks so that they are oriented in a vertical fashion as shown in Figure 3. In order to do so, a mould with and brick being vertical is used with the same vibratory compression technique. This method allows for greater production volumes within a given time and thus represents one area of increase in cost effectiveness.

The vertically oriented bricks must then be mechanically turned so that they can be packaged horizontally. A mechanical apparatus is then used to pick up the cured bricks to produce a generally cube shaped package that contains layers of horizontally oriented bricks. It is important that each of the layers of the bricks be suitable for a laying machine to be able to take off each layer and lay it in place.

The packaging, orientation and source of the bricks may be important, depending on the final paved surface to be constructed. Thus, the mechanical apparatus may pick up cured bricks from one or more sources and, under computer control, arrange each layer of the 20 cured bricks into a predetermined pattern. Each of the layers of the package may have a separate pattern. Each layer may be labelled so that it is correctly placed when unpacked and paved. Upon placement of the layers, as described below, features of the different bricks from different sources may be used in the final paved surface.

1 25 The package of layers is then wrapped in stretch plastic to retain the bricks in place. The packaged bricks are then transported to the paving site, possibly having been stored for a period of time.

At the work site the plastic is removed and a mechanical laying machine is able to grasp each layer of paving units from the package and lay them in position layer at a time. The mechanical laying machine can shuffle them into a bonded configuration and accurately position the paving bricks to form a harmonious paved surface.

-6- Where the bricks are obtained from two or more production sources (or if the production process is varied during a production run), each of the bricks from each of the production sources may have different qualities. For example, different bricks may have different colours, surface texture or features, including protrusions. These features can be incorporated into each of the package layers as described above. As these layers are paved by the mechanical laying machine, each of these features may be incorporated into the layered surface according to the pattern of each layer. An example of this is where different colours are incorporated into each of the different sources of bricks. By using different coloured bricks a colour intensification or alteration can be implemented in the paved surface, so that if the paved surface is used as a road, the colour intensification or alteration can warn a motorist of an approaching hazard. In this example, the bricks may be incorporated with glass particles that allow the paved surface to reflect light from the headlights of a vehicle at night.

Another example may be used instead of or in addition to the colour feature. In this case, the road surface is provided with a feature that produces an audible effect as the tyre of the vehicle travels over the paved surface to warn a motorist of a potentially hazardous area, such as an intersection or a roundabout. This may be, for example, by providing 20 protrusions on the road surface. In addition, larger sized protrusions can be used along the •""shoulders of a road so that the audible effect becomes louder and thus the warning of the potential hazard becomes more pronounced. This is achieved by incorporating bricks with protrusions in each layer of the packaged bricks so that as the layer is removed from the package and layed by the machine the bricks with the protrusions are in the correct 25 position.

*As an alternative to the protrusions being provided on the road surface, an upper corner of each brick may be shaped so as to produce a channel between each paved brick which causes an audible effect as the tyre of a vehicle travels over the paved surface. This is in fact a preferred method of achieving an audible effect. Here, the size and shape of the truncated corners can be used to create different audible effects, such as a louder audible effect or more repeated audible effect. Such features that produce the audible effect can be 7 incorporated into the mould of the bricks.

The combination of vertical manufacturing of paving bricks and the packaging in layers so that each of the pavers can be mechanically layed results in a greatly reduced costs associated with producing a paved surface such as, a paved road surface. The efficiency able to be achieved by this method, provides significant cost benefits over traditional methods of producing a paved surface. In addition, the benefits of using a paved surface with safety features of colour change or audible warnings can be included in the surface in an economical manner.

Now that the present invention has been described in detail it will be clear that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the basic inventive concept. Such as, the manufactured paving units may be warehoused and stored before being transported to the paving site; and the size or dimensions of the paving units may vary.

Such modifications are intended to be within the scope of the present invention, the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description.

In the claims of this application and in the description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the words "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" are used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence S. S 2 tor addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.

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Claims (9)

1. An improved method of providing a paved surface comprising: manufacturing a plurality of elongate paving units by a method of manufacture that produces the units oriented with the length of each paving unit being vertical; packaging the plurality of paving units for transport, wherein the packaging includes a plurality of layers of paving units, each layer being suitable for a laying machine to use; and using a laying machine to lay each layer of paving units to form the paved surface.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the manufacture of the paving units is one layer at a time. The method according to claims 1 or 2, wherein the manufacture of the paving units is by vibratory compaction ofcementious material inside a mould. S4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each paving i: i: unit has a width and a depth, the width being greater than the depth. o 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the paving units are packaged so S 25 that their widths are substantially horizontal in the package.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the paving units are oC packaged so that their depths are substantially vertical in the package.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the paving units are manufactured so that the units are in a homogenous pattern. 9

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the packaging of the layers of paving units includes stacking layers of paving units one on top of another to produce a package having a suitable number of layers.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the method includes transporting the packaged paving units to the site that the paved surface is to be made. The method according to claim 1, wherein the laying machine lays a horizontal layer of paving units at once.

11. A package of paving units comprising a plurality of elongate paving units provided in layers with each layer being suitable for use by a laying machine without further manipulation of the paving units, wherein each layer comprises paving units manufactured by a process that orients the length of each unit to be substantially vertical.

12. A paved surface manufactured according to the method of any one of claims 1 20 13. A method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying Figures 3 and 4. O *14. A package of paving units substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 3 and 4. 2 5 15. A paved surface substantially as hereinbefore described. Dated this 23 d day of June

2005. 30 ROBERT DARRYL PEAK By His Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK Fellows Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia