The invention relates to a method of making safety cones and, in particular, to a method of using recycled materials to make safety cone prototypes and then coating them with a specific color.

The usual safety cones for road marks or alerting signs are made of PVC, PE, or rubber. However, the oil price has been soaring in recent years. The related plastic chemical materials also become more expensive. Therefore, how to reduce the production cost of safety cones has become an important issue for manufacturers.

The safety cone 5 used for road guidance and indication, as shown in FIG. 8, is usually made by attaching a reflective sticker 6 on the outer surface thereof. It then reflects the beam of light to notify an incoming car. Since the safety cone 5 has to have a bright color, its plastic material is mixed with some dye during the manufacturing process. In this case, one cannot use recycled material in order to prevent a dirty surface color. Moreover, the conventional method of making safety cones 5 is complicated and time-consuming. Besides, the required color has to be prepared in advance. Therefore, it is not suitable for making a small quantity of safety cones or safety cones with some special color.

A method of using recycled materials to make safety cones in accordance with the first part of claim 1 is known from B. K. Mikofalvy, et al., "Traffic Cones From Recycled Vinyl", Journal of Vinyl Technology, Manchester, NH, US, 1 September 1993, pages 159-163.

U.S. Patent 2,942,571 discloses a method of making safety cones using recycled materials in accordance with the first part of claim 8.

An objective of the invention is to provide a method that makes safety cones using recycled materials and applying a desired, firmly adhering color thereon. By adding appropriate fluorescent agents or reflective materials into the paint, the safety cones can have very good reflective effect.

The above-mentioned objects are achieved by the methods of the invention as defined in claims 1 and 8.

The invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below illustration only, and thus is not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

• FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the disclosed safety cone according to the first embodiment of the invention;
• FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing how a color is painted on the safety cone prototype;
• FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional schematic view of the second embodiment of the invention;
• FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing how the second embodiment is implemented;
• FIG. 5 is a three-dimensional view of the third embodiment of the invention;
• FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional view of the fourth embodiment of the invention;
• FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional view of the fifth embodiment of the invention; and
• FIG. 8 is a three-dimensional view of a conventional safety cone.

The present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same references relate to the same elements.

According to a first embodiment of the disclosed method of making safety cones using recycled materials, it includes the following steps.

First, recycled materials are put in a molding machine (not shown). The molding machine can be an injection molding machine or stamp molding machine. The molding machine uses the recycled materials to integrally form safety cone prototypes 1, whose structure is illustrated in FIG. 1.

A paint 2 containing plastic powders, resin, and dye is coated on the surface of the safety cone prototype 1, rendering a colored safety cone 1 as shown in FIG. 2. The paint 2 can be coated and adhered onto the surface of the safety cone prototype 1 by spraying, painting, showering, and soaking. The safety cone prototype 1 thus becomes a colored safety cone.

The paint 2 contains dye, resin, and plastic powders mixed in an appropriate proportion. The dye has mainly a bright color. The resin provides an adhesive force. The plastic powders of the paint 2 have the same ingredients as the recycled materials for making the safety cone prototype 1. Therefore, the paint 2 thus prepared can firmly adhere onto the surface of the safety cone prototype 1. Besides, the paint 2 can be added with some reflective material or fluorescent agent. In that case, there is no need to use additional reflective stickers for an alerting effect once the paint is coated on the surface of the safety cone prototype 1.

In summary, the invention uses cheap recycled materials to mass-produce safety cone prototypes 1. They are then coated with colors requested by clients. It can effectively reduce the production cost. Besides, it is more suitable for making a small quantity of safety cones or cones with a special color.

The invention has many other embodiments with minor variations from the first embodiment. Please refer to FIG. 3 for the second embodiment of the invention. In this case, the recycled materials are integrally formed into a safety cone with several holes 12. In this embodiment, the safety cone prototype 1 has a hollow cone-shaped alerting body 13 and a base 14 connected to the bottom of the alerting body 13. Each of the holes 12 on the alerting body 13 is circular.

Since the holes 12 are integrally formed in the molding machine, the safety cone prototype 1 does not need an additional punching process. By having many holes 12 on the alerting body 13, the required materials and thus the cost for making a safety cone are further reduced.

Moreover, the above-mentioned design of having holes 12 on the alerting body 13 can reduce its wind cross section. As shown in FIG. 4, when a vehicle passes by and generates turbulence, most of the air flows directly through the holes 12 of the alerting body 13. The safety cone is less likely to be blown away. As the alerting body 13 of the disclosed safety cone has holes 12, its weight is greatly reduced so that its center of gravity is closer to the ground. This increases the stability thereof. As a result, the thickness of the base 14 can be appropriately decreased. It achieves the goal of maintaining good stability without increasing additional costs (e.g., placing a heavy weight). The safety cone therefore does not easily topple or shift under a strong wind.

Please refer to FIG. 5 for the third embodiment of the invention. It is different from the second embodiment in that the holes 12 on the alerting body 13 are square.

Please refer to FIG. 6 for the fourth embodiment of the invention. It is different from the second embodiment in that the alerting body is a hollow pyramid cone with several circular holes 12 on its surface as well.

Please refer to FIG. 7 for the fifth embodiment of the invention. It is different from the second embodiment in that the alerting body 13 has a cylindrical shape and several square holes 12 on its surface.

There are some other embodiments differing from the previous ones in certain parts. The sixth embodiment of the invention is different from the first embodiment in the following.

The recycled materials in the first embodiment are used to make new safety cone prototypes for color painting. In this embodiment, discolored or dirty safety cones are recycled and directly coated with the paint 2 mentioned before to render a new colored safety cone.

The paint 2 also has dye, resin and plastic powders with the same ingredients as the recycled safety cone, mixed in an appropriate proportion. The paint 2 thus prepared can be firmly adhered onto the surface of the recycled safety cone. Besides, the paint 2 can be added with some reflective material or fluorescent agent. In that case, there is no need to use additional reflective stickers for an alerting effect once the paint is coated on the surface of the safety cone prototype 1. The paint 2 can be applied and adhered onto the surface of the recycled safety cone by spraying, painting, showering, and soaking.

The safety cone produced using this embodiment method can achieve all effects of that in the first embodiment. It further avoids the injection molding process of making safety cone prototypes.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover all modifications that fall within the true scope of the invention.