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(11) | EP 3 792 399 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | PLASTIC ROAD MODULE |
| (57) Present invention relates to a plastic road module 1 comprising an elongated plate.
The longitudinal edges of the module 1 comprise a tongue-groove profile comprising
at the opposite edges of the module 1 a groove profile 3 and tongue profile 2, respectively.
The module 1 is made of extruded plastic waste material, wherein the module 1 has
a cross-section containing parallel cavities 4 extending in the longitudinal direction
of the module 1, where the bottom side 5 of the module 1 during use contains grooves
6 and the top side 7 of the module 1 during use has a roughened surface.
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Technical Field
[0001] Present invention relates to a plastic road module made of plastic material, preferably of plastic waste material, of which it is possible to form paths with different lengths and widths. In other words, the invention relates to a module made of plastic material, which by combining several such modules enables to form a so-called road pavement for non-motorised traffic or a pedestrian path. The invention also proposes an opportunity to utilise plastic waste.
Background Art
[0002] A number of solutions are currently known where plastic material is used for making path or floor modules.
[0003] From the European patent application EP1104830 a hollow, relatively thin-walled floor profile is known, which comprises a top side and a bottom side and a joint profile at the opposite edges. In use the top or work surface is provided with anti-slip elements, which feature fixed elements of a profile made of another material. The mentioned design is not suitable for extruding a profile from unknown provenance or unsorted plastic waste, since such material cannot ensure sufficient load-bearing capacity of the profile.
[0004] From the patent US5735097A a two-part profile for making a terrace or a so-called plastic boardwalk is known. The profile consists of a top half and a bottom half; the bottom half and the top half of the profile are fastened together by snap-fits at the longitudinal edges of the profile halves. A cavity is formed between the profile sides.
[0005] A stiffener is projected from the upper half of the profile. The mentioned design is not suitable for extruding a profile from unknown provenance or unsorted plastic waste, since such material cannot ensure sufficient elasticity of the snap-fits at the edges of the profile.
Summary of invention
[0006] To overcome the disadvantages of the solutions listed above, the present invention proposes a plastic road module, comprising an elongated plate, which has a tongue and groove joint profile at the longitudinal edges.
[0007] The tongue and groove joint profile comprises a tongue profile and a groove profile at the opposite edges, respectively.
[0008] The module is made of extruded plastic waste material, wherein the cross-section of the module contains parallel cavities extending in the longitudinal direction in the cross-section of the module, where in use the bottom side of the module comprises grooves and in use the top side of the module has a roughened surface.
[0009] Preferably, the grooves on the bottom side of the module are made as two groups of intersecting parallel grooves, or in other words, these grooves form a rhombic pattern (or so-called diamond pattern). The pattern of mentioned grooves is intended to engage with the material (gravel, sand, clay, etc.) of the so-called road embankment under the module.
[0010] Preferably, the top side of the module is roughened and the bottom side grooves are formed when the module is coming out of the extruder by passing it through the profiled rolls for the top and bottom sides of the module before the complete solidification of the module. In other words, by pressing with these rolls the roughened surface and the grooved profile on the top and bottom sides, respectively.
[0011] The module's top surface roughening is intended for ensuring sufficient friction on the top side for pedestrians and bicycles, for example.
[0012] Preferably, the cavities inside the module have a round cross-section and each cavity has a diameter of maximum 60% of the thickness of the module in cross-section.
[0013] In the first embodiment, the plastic waste material from which the modules are made by extrusion contains several types of sorted plastic waste, which are crushed and granulated for extrusion.
[0014] In the second embodiment, the plastic waste material from which the modules are made by extrusion, contains several types and provenance of unsorted plastic waste, plastic type resins and their bonded polymers.
Brief description of drawings
[0015] The invention is described below with references to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 represents the end view of the module;
Fig. 2 represents the axonometric top view of the module;
Fig. 3 represents the axonometric bottom view of the module;
Figs. 4, 5 and 6 represent the end view, the top view and the axonometric top view of the path section, made of the modules.
Description of embodiments
[0016] Exemplary embodiment of the module 1 is described below with references to the Fig. 1, 2 and 3.
[0017] The module dimensions in the exemplary embodiment shown in the Figures are as follows: length 1400 mm, width 300 mm, thickness 50 mm and the diameter of the cavity 30 mm.
[0018] It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the dimensions of the module (length, width, thickness, diameter of cavities) depend on the intended use and/or the possibilities of the extruder, used for manufacturing.
[0019] The modules according to the invention can also be made in other lengths, from 1 up to 12 m, for example.
[0020] Likewise, the thickness of a module may vary from 50 up to 200 mm and the cavity diameter from 3 up to 120 mm, respectively.
[0021] The module 1 includes an elongated plate with a tongue and groove profile at the longitudinal edges, comprising the tongue profile 2 and the groove profile 3 at the opposite edges, respectively. The adjacent modules 1 are joined together by pressing the tongue profile 2 into the respective groove profile 3 of the adjacent module.
[0022] The material of the module 1 is sufficiently elastic to allow the walls of the groove profile 3 to be bent in order to receive the tongue profile 2 in the groove profile 3 and to lock the adjacent modules 1 together.
[0023] Preferably, the tongue profile 2 and the groove profile 3 are manufactured as geometrically matching profiles shown in Fig. 1, i.e., the tongue has a round cross-section, which is connected to the module through a so-called neck and the groove profile 3 has a cross-sectional shape corresponding to the shape of the tongue.
[0024] The neck is smaller than the diameter of the tongue so that the tongue can be locked into the groove by pushing it into the groove, i.e. the edges of the groove must bend outwards to receive the tongue.
[0025] Cavities 4 are formed in the module 1 by extrusion. These cavities 4 have several purposes. On the one hand, the modules 1 with the cavities 4 are lighter, as there is less material in the module by the cavities 4. In the embodiment represented in the Figure, the diameter of the cavity does not exceed 60% of the thickness of the module.
[0026] The distance or pitch between the cavities 4 in the width of the module 1 is preferably uniform. Preferably, if the cavity has a diameter of 60% of the module thickness, the minimum thickness of the material portion between the two adjacent cavities 4 corresponds to the minimum thickness of the material portion of the module between the cavity 4 and the bottom side 5 or the top side 7 of the module 1.
[0027] Likewise, the mentioned cavities 4 can be used for other purposes, such as for hiding wires/cables.
[0028] The grooves 6 on the bottom side 5 of the module 1 are preferably made by pressing with a profiled roll before the complete solidification of the plastic material after the module 1 has come out from the extruder.
[0029] The depth of the grooves 6 is approximately 1-5 mm. The width of the grooves 6 is approximately 2-25 mm.
[0030] Preferably, the grooves 6 form a so-called rhombic pattern on the bottom side of module 1, where the pitch of the parallel grooves 6 is approximately 10-50 mm and the angle of the grooves 6 in relation to the longitudinal direction of the module is in the range of 5-70 degrees.
[0031] The roughening of the top side 7 of the module 1 may also be accomplished by pressing the grooves' pattern on the top side.
[0032] However, when roughening is carried out by rollers, a rough pattern is preferably pressed on the top side 7 of the module 1.
[0033] The use of the module 1 according to the invention with reference to Fig. 4, 5 and 6 is described below.
[0034] Preferably, when forming the road pavement, one row of the modules 1 is displaced in the longitudinal direction in relation to the next row of the modules 1, so that the interlocking ends of one row of the modules 1 would not be directly in alignment with the interlocking ends of the next row of the modules 1.
[0035] Fig. 4 to 6 represent only the modules 1, which are intended for making straight sections of the road or path.
[0036] The bend elements of the plastic road are formed either by angle cutting of the ends of the modules shown in the drawings and continuing at angle with the next group of modules, or by special modules with curved profiles (so-called curve modules), which are not shown here and are not part of the present invention.
[0037] In addition, the drawings represent the edge profiles 8 and 9, which are also placed in the tongue profile 2 and the groove profile 3 of the successive modules 1 and preferably displaced in relation to the ends of the two interlocking modules so that the interlocking ends of the edge profiles 8, 9 would not be in alignment with the interlocking ends of the modules 1.
[0038] It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment described above and represented in the accompanying drawings, but also other embodiments are possible within the limits of the accompanying claim.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS
1. A plastic road module (1) comprising an elongated plate, which has a tongue and groove
profile at the longitudinal edges, comprising the tongue profile (2) and the groove
profile (3) at the opposite edges, respectively, characterized in that, the module (1) is made of extruded plastic waste material, wherein the cross-section
of the module (1) comprises parallel cavities (4) extending in the longitudinal direction
of the module (1), where in use the bottom side (5) of the module (1) comprises grooves
(6) and in use the top side (7) of the module has roughened surface.
2. Module according to claim 1, characterized in that, the grooves (6) on the bottom side (5) of the module (1) are made as two groups
of intersecting parallel grooves (6), forming a rhombic pattern on the bottom side
(5) of the module (1).
3. Module according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, the cavities (4) have a round cross-section and each cavity (4) has a diameter maximum
of 60% of the thickness of the module (1) in cross-section.
4. Module according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that, the plastic waste material from which the modules are made by extrusion, contains
several types and provenance of unsorted plastic waste, plastic type resins and their
bonded polymers.
REFERENCES CITED IN THE DESCRIPTION
This list of references cited by the applicant is for the reader's convenience only. It does not form part of the European patent document. Even though great care has been taken in compiling the references, errors or omissions cannot be excluded and the EPO disclaims all liability in this regard.
Patent documents cited in the description