Prefabricated continuous roadmarking tape having optical and electromagnetic function

• US 4,925,335 A
• Filed: 11/21/1988
• Issued: 05/15/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ludwig Eigenmann
• Original Assignee: Ludwig Eigenmann
• Inventors: Eigenmann, Ludwig
• Primary Examiner(s): Neuder, William P.
• Application Number:
  US07/273,521
• Time in Patent Office: 540 Days
• Field of Search: 404/12, 404/13, 404/14
• US Class Current: 404/12
• CPC Class Codes: E01F 9/30 Arrangements interacting with transmitters or receivers otherwise than by visible means, e.g. using radar reflectors or radio transmitters E01F11/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E01F 9/40 Arrangements responsive to adverse atmospheric conditions, e.g. to signal icy roads or to automatically illuminate in fog; Arrangements characterised by heating or drying means
• CPC Class Codes: E01F 9/582 illuminated
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096758 where no selection takes place on the transmitted or the received information
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096783 where the origin of the information is a roadside individual element

Abstract

A prefabricated continuous multilayer road-marking tape is described, which includes retroreflecting optical components, light emitting diodes (LEDs), solar cells, storage batteries, and reflectors and transmitters of electromagnetic waves. There are given examples of the use of the reflectors in order to control the speed of a vehicle which travels far from the tape, and examples of the use of EPROMs (erasable programmable read only memory) where messages are recorded, with the purpose of giving information about the conditions of the road, the presence of ice or of traffic jams, and so on, said messages being transmitted by a radio transmitter.

Claims

1. Continuous prefabricated multilayer road-marking tape secured on the road surface, to be exploited by the incoming traffic, comprising:

(a) an upper wear resistant face layer, having transparent protrusions, and further including;

(i) retroreflecting components;

(ii) solar cells;

(iii) storage batteries of small size;

(iv) light emitting diodes (LEDs); and

(v) transmitting units of low energy absorption operating in the field of frequency of the megaherz;

(b) an impregnated non-woven middle positioned layer;

(c) an antenna consisting of conductive wires connected to said transmitting units;

(d) an EMI (electromagnetic interferences) shielding on a low face of the tape as a protection against the electromagnetic perturbations coming from the road surface;

(e) a layer consisting of a strong extensible web which allows the removal of the tape from the road surface; and

(f) electrical circuits connecting said solar cells, storage batteries, light emitting diodes, transmitting units and antenna.

2. Continuous prefabricated multilayer road-marking tape secured on the road surface, as in claim 1, which transmits electromagnetic waves from conductive stripes adhering to a low layer of the tape, forming a reflector operating at a frequency in the field of the gigaherz, and protected by an EMI (electromagnetic interferences) shielding against the perturbations from the road surface.

3. Continuous prefabricated multilayer road-marking tape secured on the road surface, as in claim 1, which transmits electromagnetic waves from an antenna operating in the field of frequency of the megaherz connected with a transmitter positioned on the tape, and protected by an EMI (electromagnetic interferences) shielding against the perturbation from the road surface.

4. Continuous prefabricated multilayer road-marking tape secured on the road surface, as in claim 2, where the multiple conductive stripes dipped in adhesive are specifically positioned at an angular direction in respect to the traffic direction.

5. Continuous prefabricated multilayer road-marking tape secured on the road surface, as in claim 3, which emits, by means of the megaherz transmitter, messages recorded in EPROM (erasable programmable only memory) chip, to be exploited by an incoming car.

6. Continuous prefabricated multilayer road-marking tape secured on the road surface, as in claim 5, said messages recorded in EPROM indicate too low temperature of the road surface.

7. Continuous prefabricated multilayer road-marking tape secured on the road surface including:

(a) a microswitch positioned in a compressible portion of the tape and activable by compression of the tape;

(b) an EPROM connected with said microswitch and a megaherz transmitter so as to transmit a message concerning a traffic jam;

(c) a series of directional light emitting diodes (LEDs) activated by said microswitch as to direct the vehicular traffic away from the jam.