MXPA97010349A - Vertical retrorreflejante deliner of amp scale - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to traffic delineators (10, 20) with vertically placed retroreflective markings (14) showing high retroreflective brightness with high incidence angles and low index angles. The eyeliners are suitable for use in protection bars, Jersey barriers, bridge stops, walls, barrels, posts, etc. especially in positions close to traffic intersection lines

Description

RETRQ DELINEADOR VERTICAL VERTICAL SCALE PHONE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to vertical retroreflective delineators exhibiting high retroreflective brilliance at both high incidence angles and low incidence angles. The eyeliners are suitable for use in protection bars, Jersey barriers, bridge boundaries, walls, etc., particularly delineators that are subjected to approximation of several directions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The use of retroreflective traffic signs and delineators in railway crossing warnings and the like for traffic control and security purposes is well known. The signs are typically positioned so that they are oriented relatively perpendicular to the direction of travel and approach of the vehicles. The conventional retroreflective materials currently provide retroreflective performance superior to REF: 26427 the input or incidence angles from 0o to 30 ° or 40 °. In the case of vertical delineators such as protection bars and Jersey barriers, retroreflective markers are often placed as protruding parts on the surface of the barrier so that light from vehicles traveling on the adjacent road impacts the markers at a lower incidence angle. In some cases, retroreflective materials are used that are optimized for retroreflection at high angles of incidence. For example, U.S. Patent No. 4,349,598 (White) discloses retroreflective articles that are said to show retroreflection at angles of incidence of about 30 ° to 85 °. The markings of such material in, for example, a railroad crossing protection or warning, placed parallel to a first road would provide retroreflection to vehicles traveling on the road. However, such markings do not provide the desired retroreflection to the vehicle approaching relatively perpendicular to the guard protection, for example, in a second path intersecting the first path.

U.S. Patent No. 4,712,867 (Malek) describes retroreflectors that are effective over a wide range of incident angles. There is a need for vertical traffic delineators for marking that provide brilliant retroreflection at both high incident angles and at low incidence angles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides vertical delineators that provide bright retroreflection at high and low incidence angles, i.e., wide-scale retroreflective eyeliners. Briefly, an article of the invention is a traffic delineator having a mark placed vertically thereon, wherein the mark is placed substantially parallel to the first path and is substantially retroreflective at all angles of incidence between 0o and 85 °. The retroreflective delineators of the invention are particularly suitable for use on vertical surfaces, particularly those which are observed at high angles of incidence such as protection bars, building walls along tunnels, Jersey barriers, etc. In the present the vertical term is used to simplify any surface generally raised or raised as opposed to horizontal surfaces such as road surfaces or a platform. An advantage of the eyeliners of the invention is that in addition to displaying improved retroreflective brilliance at high incident angles, they also exhibit high retroreflective brilliance at lower entry angles, for example, between 30 ° and 40 ° with respect to normal, whose signs they are often observed. This makes the articles of the invention especially suitable for use in walls and barriers along motorways and other applications in which the vehicle can approach the structure from a wide range of angles in which effective retroreflective brilliance is desired. The delineators of the invention can be used in curved formats, for example, wound around cones and traffic barrels, or curved protection bars, for example, to provide excellent retroreflective brilliance essentially along the entire visible portion in the line of light due to the exceptional angularity of entry of the retroreflective brand. As a result, the visibility of the brand and therefore of the eyeliner is increased under retroreflective conditions, whereby safety is improved.

BRIEF DES RI CTION OF THE DIBUJQg The invention will be further explained with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of two illustrative arrangements of vertical traffic delineators according to the invention; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of an illustrative eyeliner of the invention; and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of another illustrative delineator of the invention. These figures, which are idealized and not to scale are presented only as illustrative and not limiting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE MODALITIES Figure 1 illustrates two traffic delineators of the invention. The eyeliner 10 is a Jersey barrier placed along a first path 12 with a retroreflective mark 14 thereon. The eyeliner 20 is a round barrel positioned near the intersection of the second path 22 with the first path 12 and having a retroreflective mark thereon. The delineators of the invention comprise retroreflective materials that provide high retroreflective brilliance at both high entry angles and low entry angles. Illustrative examples of delineators include protection bars, Jersey barriers, bridge boundaries, walls, barrels and poles. They can also be used in vehicles if desired, for example, the sides of the back of a truck or a railway box car. The retroreflective materials may be in any convenient form, for example, a flexible laminate fined with adhesive, rigid panels or sheets, etc., based on the desired application. The traffic delineators of the invention have retroreflective markings placed vertically thereon, wherein at least a portion of the marking is placed substantially parallel to the first path. In addition to being positioned in relation to the road and therefore the traffic as described herein, the mark is retroreflective both at low entry angles and at high entry angles. Typically, the mark is retroreflective substantially at all angles of incidence between 0 ° and 85 °, preferably substantially at all angles of incidence between 0 ° and 89 °, and most preferably substantially at all angles of incidence between 0 ° and 90 °. It is typically preferred that the retroreflective brilliance of the mark at an angle of incidence of about 88 ° be at least 20 percent, preferably at least 40 percent of the retroreflective brilliance of the same mark at an angle of incidence of approximately 5o, so that the eyeliner provides more consistent operation at all approach angles. Preferably, the mark provides a retroreflective brightness of at least 5 candela / lux / meter2, more preferably at least 20 candela / lux / meter2, much more preferably at least 50 candela / lux / metro2 at angles of incidence of 88 °. With reference to Figures 1 and 2, the eyeliner 10 is a Jersey barrier, comprising a mark 14 thereon. As shown, the major portions (ie, having an area of 50 centimeters2 or more) of the mark 14 are substantially planar. If desired, major portions or even substantially all of the mark 14 may be contoured or non-planar in either or both of the vertical and horizontal dimensions. For example, the mark may be on a protection bar that is parallel to a curved path or the protection bar may have a vertical face that is curved. In another example described below, the eyeliner may have a rounded horizontal cross section to which the mark fits. In many embodiments, the eyeliner and the marking are configured so that at least some portions of the mark are placed at a height between about 0.6 and about 2.5 meters (about 2 and about 8 feet) above the road surface. When they are placed in this way, the brand will provide improved visibility from the delineator for most of the approaching vehicles. It will be understood that for some applications the marks may be placed outside this range according to the invention. For example, on roads that are used primarily by trucks or other large vehicles, it may be desirable to place at least portions of the retroreflective markings at heights greater than 2.5 meters (8 feet). An important advantage of the present invention is the wide range of entry angles through which the demarcated material provides an effective retroreflective response. As a result, the brand itself can provide an effective retroreflective presence to vehicles approaching from different angles. In some embodiments of the invention, a second path intersects the first path (along which the mark is placed) at an angle of intersection of between 45 ° and approximately 90 ° with the area of intersection adjacent to the eyeliner. Figure 1 shows such an embodiment in which a second path 22 intersects the first path 12 substantially perpendicularly along the portion of the first path 12 in which the eyeliner 10 is placed with the mark 14. The eyeliners of the invention they can be manufactured with a retroreflective material that provides the desired wide-angle, retro-reflective response. Retroreflective materials called exposed lenses and embedded lenses can be used. However, it is typically preferred that the retroreflective material be a retroreflective lens material embedded because such materials remain retroreflective under wet conditions, in which exposed lens materials no longer function. Retroreflective laminates before lenses embedded with flat roof films (sometimes also referred to as top films, top sheets, cover sheets, etc.), have been constructed as a means to improve retroreflectivity and number. The US patent Nos. 4,505,967 (Bailey) describes retroreflective laminates of embedded lenses that are effective over a wide range of input angles. U.S. Patent No. 4,025,159 (McGrath) discloses retroreflective angles of embedded lens. In some cases, the inventive markings can be fabricated using retroreflective laminates, sometimes referred to as a base sheet, which themselves do not possess the wide requisite angularity in combination with means to extend the angularity. For example, means may be used to redirect incident light to more useful orientations. The light that would normally be mirrored at relatively useless angles before the incidence at an oblique angle to a used retroreflective lens laminate is redirected to more favorable angles so that they enter the base laminate so that a portion of the light is retroreflected by the underlying base sheet and refracted or reflected again, based on the nature of the means for redirecting the light, so that it is directed towards the source of light origin. Such combination systems are referred to herein as composite retroreflective articles or systems.

PCT application WO 97/01676, assignee of the assignee, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses a composite retroreflective system comprising retroreflective base sheets and an array arrangement of refractory elements to light. When used as a mark on a vertical delineator as described herein, superior performance is provided at a variety of input angles. PCT application WO 97/01679, assignee of the assignee, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses a composite retroreflective system comprising retroreflective base sheets and an array of spherical lens elements and can be used as a trademark. retroreflective in the vertical delineators of the present invention. European Patent Application Publication No. 0 385 746 (Kobayashi et al.), Which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses a composite retroreflective system that can be used in vertical delineators of the present invention. U.S. Patent No. 4,145,112 (Crone), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses a composite retroreflective article that is said to be useful as an article for pavement marking. This article can be used as the retroreflective mark on the eyeliner of the invention. The articles described in this patent comprise a retroreflective layer of underlying base and a light direction layer consisting of a series of longitudinally extending short transparent projections which each have a front and rear part (defined in relation to the expected origin that is going to retroreflect) and edge surfaces that extend up. The leading edge surfaces are placed through the path of the light of high incidence angle, so they transmit instead of reflecting away a high percentage of the incident light from the approaching motor vehicles. The trailing edge surface is positioned to both reflect the light transmitted through the leading edge surface to a path within a predetermined angular range for retroreflection by retroreflective elements and to reflect light retroreflected by retroreflective elements back through. from the front edge surface towards its source. A precise configurational relationship of the edge surfaces extending up front and rear of each projection should be established and maintained in order to retain the appropriate retroreflectivity. U.S. Patent No. 4,236,788 (Wyckoff) discloses a related type of pavement marking strip in which two sides of the transverse prisms are adjusted to provide an internal repeat downward in the base sheet from one side, and refraction to the space successive prisms in the base sheet from the other side. As described in the article in U.S. Patent No. 4,145,112, the maintenance of an accurate configurational relationship between the two vertical faces of the prisms is critical. This reference does not disclose that the material can be used on vertical surfaces to provide effective retroreflection at low angles of incidence as well as high angles of incidence. Another way to increase the input angularity of a retroreflective marker for use in the present invention is to form retroreflective material in contoured portions. The North American application Serial No. copendiente of the applicants (Attorney's File No. 51416USA2A), which is incorporated herein in its entirety, discloses contoured retroreflective materials suitable for use in the present invention.

Illustrative examples of embedded lens retroreflective laminates that can be used as base laminates in the inventive markings include encapsulated lens laminates and embedded lens laminates. Illustrative encapsulated lens laminates include retroreflective laminates based on microspheres that comprise a monolayer of transparent microspheres partially embedded in a binder layer with reflective layers in the back portions (i.e., embedded) of the same and interphases of air with the front surfaces thereof provided by a cover sheet placed in the front of the microspheres and cube corner type laminates comprising a monolayer of retroreflective elements of corner shape of cubes that have an air interface protected by a sealing layer. Illustrative entangled lens laminates include retroreflective laminates based on microspheres comprising a monolayer of transparent microspheres whose front and back surfaces are embedded in a transparent matrix and a reflective layer separated from the back surfaces of the microspheres by a selected substance. Cube corner type materials in which the cube corner elements have been covered with a specular reflective metal layer can be used if desired. U.S. Patent No. 4,025,159 (McGrath) discloses some type of microsphere and retroreflective laminates of encapsulated cube corner type lenses that can be used herein. U.S. Patent No. 4,505,967 (Bailey) discloses a retroreflective embedded lens laminate that is particularly suitable and is preferred for use herein. Retroreflective embedded lens laminates are available in commercial forms that are very durable and flexible. In addition, embedded retroreflective lens laminates are available in embodiments that provide effective retroreflective performance at higher entry angles compared to encapsulated lens systems. The 3M SCOTCHLITE No. 3750 reflective license plate laminate is an illustrative example of a commercial retroreflective laminate that can be used in delineators of the invention. Preferably, all of the constituent layers of the retroreflective base laminate adhere in all types of weather conditions under the stresses found by the resulting eyeliner.

With reference to Figure 3, the eyeliner 20 comprises a barrel 24 with a retroreflective mark 26 on the surface thereof. Due to the effective retroreflective brilliance of the mark 26 at both low entry angles and high entry angles, essentially the full width of the eyeliner will be retroreflective, making the eyeliner 20 more visible and thus improving security. The eyeliners provided herein are especially useful on the sides of vehicles, for example in truck trailers or in trolley boxes. As the other vehicles move, they are observed from a wide range of angles. The wide scale input angularity of the delineators of the invention will provide excellent visibility through all observation perspectives.

Glossary The following definitions are used herein when discussing retroreflection geometry: The term "reference axis" is the normal line to the retroreflective article at the point where light falls on it.

The term "axis of incidence" is the axis defined by the path of incident light from the light source, for example, the headlight of a motor vehicle, up to the point of incidence in the article. The term "entry angle" (sometimes referred to as "incidence angle" or also as ß) is the angle between the reference axis and the incidence axis. The term "observation axis" is the axis defined by the retroreflected light path from the point of incidence in the article, up to the observation point, for example, the eyes of the driver of the motor vehicle. The term "observation angle" (sometimes referred to as a) is the angle between the input axis and the observation axis. The term "entry plane" is the plane defined by the reference axis and the axis of incidence. The term "observation plane" is the plane defined by the observation axis and the axis of incidence. Various modifications and alterations of this invention will become apparent to those familiar with the art without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention.

It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known by the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is the conventional one for the manufacture of the objects to which it relates. Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following:

Claims (9)

1. An eyeliner having a mark placed vertically thereon, at least a portion of the mark is placed substantially parallel to the first path, and is characterized in that the mark is retroreflective at substantially all angles of incidence between 0 ° and 85 ° and also because the retroreflective brilliance of the mark at an angle of incidence of about 88 ° is at least 20 percent of the retroreflective brilliance of the mark at an angle of incidence of about 5 °.

2. The eyeliner according to claim 1, characterized in that the mark is retroreflective substantially at all angles of incidence between 0 ° and 89 °.

3. The eyeliner according to claim 1, characterized in that the mark is retroreflective substantially at all angles of incidence between 0 ° and 90 °.

4. The eyeliner according to claim 1, characterized in that the portions of the mark are substantially flat.

5. The eyeliner according to claim 1, characterized in that the portions of the mark are not flat.

6. The eyeliner according to claim 1, characterized in that the portions of the mark are placed at a height between about 0.6 and about 2.5 meters (about 2 and about 8 feet) above the road surface.

7. The eyeliner according to claim 1, characterized in that the second path intersects the first path at an angle of intersection between about 45 ° and about 90 °, the intersecting area is underlying the eyeliner.

8. The eyeliner according to claim 1, characterized in that the eyeliner is selected from the group consisting of a protective barrier, a jersey barrier, a bridge boundary, a wall, a barrel and a post.

9. The eyeliner according to claim 1, characterized in that the mark comprises a retroreflective lens material embedded.