Illuminated groove seals for pathways
First Claim
1. A selectably illuminatable pathway groove seal for insertion into a pathway surface comprising:
- an elongated enclosure having a first side and a second opposed side, wherein when the enclosure is emplaced in a groove in a pathway the first side of the enclosure sealingly abuts a first side of the groove and the second side of the enclosure sealingly abuts a second side of the groove; and
a plurality of illumination sources positioned within the enclosure, wherein the illumination sources are positioned along a length of the enclosure and wherein the illumination sources are in communication with a remote programmable controller.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A smart groove seal integrating a communication system within a groove seal used to seal expansion joints and grooves formed in pathways or roadways. One embodiment of the smart groove seal embeds one or more illumination sources that emits visible and/or infrared light into a clear elastomeric expansion joint seal. The communication system includes an expansion joint seal having a selectable array on one or more light sources (such as LEDs and/or OLEDs) positioned within the expansion joint seal, a power supply, and a controller. The smart groove seal enhances the lighting of lanes on vehicular and pedestrian roadways and/or provides vehicular or roadway information to vehicular operators.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A selectably illuminatable pathway groove seal for insertion into a pathway surface comprising:
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an elongated enclosure having a first side and a second opposed side, wherein when the enclosure is emplaced in a groove in a pathway the first side of the enclosure sealingly abuts a first side of the groove and the second side of the enclosure sealingly abuts a second side of the groove; and a plurality of illumination sources positioned within the enclosure, wherein the illumination sources are positioned along a length of the enclosure and wherein the illumination sources are in communication with a remote programmable controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A selectably illuminatable roadway groove seal for insertion into a roadway surface comprising:
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a compressible, transparent elastomeric elongated enclosure having a first side and a second opposed side, wherein when the enclosure is emplaced in a groove in a roadway the first side of the enclosure sealingly abuts a first side of the groove and the second side of the enclosure sealingly abuts a second side of the groove; a plurality of visible light sources positioned within the enclosure, wherein the light sources are positioned along the length of the enclosure and wherein the light sources are in communication with a remote power supply; and a programmable controller in communication with the visible light sources, wherein the controller activates a first set of the light sources whenever a first set of conditions occur, whereby the activated light sources illuminate the roadway surface proximal to the activated light sources. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A selectably illuminatable roadway groove seal for insertion into a roadway surface comprising:
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an elastomeric elongated enclosure having a first side and a second opposed side, wherein when a length of the enclosure is emplaced in a groove formed in a roadway surface the first side of the enclosure sealingly abuts a first side of the groove and the second side of the enclosure sealingly abuts a second side of the groove; and a plurality of infrared transmitters positioned within the enclosure, wherein the infrared transmitters illuminate a portion of the roadway surface; whereby the portion of the roadway surface illuminated by the infrared transmitters is visualized by a vehicle equipped with an infrared sensor. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of illuminating the borders of roadway traffic lanes, the method comprising the steps of
(a) obtaining a groove seal having a compressible elastomeric elongated enclosure having a first side and a second opposed side and a selectable array of light sources positioned within the enclosure along a length of the enclosure; -
(b) emplacing the groove seal in a roadway groove that runs parallel with a traffic lane of a roadway, wherein when the groove seal is emplaced in the roadway groove the first side of the groove seal enclosure sealingly abuts a first side of the roadway groove and the second side of the groove seal enclosure sealingly abuts a second side of the roadway groove; (c) providing a power supply in communication with the light sources in the groove seal; (d) providing a programmable controller in communication with the light sources and the power supply, wherein the controller activates a first set of the light sources whenever a first set of conditions occur, whereby the activated light sources illuminate the roadway surface proximal to the activated light sources. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of transmitting information to a vehicle traveling along a roadway traffic lane, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) obtaining a groove seal having a compressible elastomeric elongated enclosure having a first side and a second opposed side and a selectable array of infrared light sources positioned within the enclosure along a length of the enclosure (b) emplacing the groove seal in a roadway groove that runs parallel with a traffic lane of a roadway, wherein when the groove seal is emplaced in the roadway groove the first side of the groove seal enclosure sealingly abuts a first side of the roadway groove and the second side of the groove seal enclosure sealingly abuts a second side of the roadway groove; (c) providing a power supply in communication with the infrared light sources in the groove seal; and (d) providing a programmable controller in communication with the infrared light sources and the power supply, wherein the controller activates a first set of the infrared light sources to transmit an infrared transmission whenever a first set of conditions occur, whereby the infrared transmission is communicated to an infrared sensor on a vehicle traveling along the roadway traffic lane.
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31. The method of claim 31, wherein the groove seal further includes a selectable array of visible light sources in communication with the power supply and the controller.
Specification