Road marker with solid body and lens protection

Abstract

A road marker configured to withstand the force of a tire of a vehicle travelling over the road marker is provided. The road marker includes at least one lens, and a body having a trapezoidal cross section. The body includes a flat top, a bottom wall, a pair of angled sides with pockets for the lenses, and a pair of rounded ends. A pocket is disposed on each of the angled sides. The pocket is formed to receive the lens. Each pocket extends from the top to the bottom wall and from one of the pair of rounded ends to the other of the pair of rounded ends. A plurality of vertical exterior ribs which extend beyond the exposed surface of the lens to provide a gap between the lens surface and the tire.

1 . A road marker configured to withstand the force of a tire of a vehicle travelling over the road marker, the road marker comprising:
 at least one lens;   a body having a trapezoidal cross section, the body further including a flat top, a bottom wall, a pair of angled sides with pockets for the lenses, and a pair ends,   a pocket disposed on each of the angled sides, the pocket formed to receive the lens, each pocket extending from the top to the bottom wall and from one of the pair of ends to the other of the pair of ends; and   a plurality of vertical exterior ribs which extend beyond the exposed surface of the lens to provide a gap between the lens surface and the tire.   
     
     
         2 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 1 , further including a plurality of recesses extending downwardly an equal distance from the top and angled sides to the bottom wall, the recesses are generally rectangular. 
     
     
         3 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the bottom wall of each angled side is curved outwardly to provide additional area for the lens and to provide a smooth surface for the tires. 
     
     
         4 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein each of the pair of rounded ends are contoured from the top to the bottom wall, each of the pair of rounded ends further including a flange extending outwardly from each of the pair of rounded ends. 
     
     
         5 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the bottom wall includes a lip bounding the peripheral edge of the bottom wall so as to define a recessed surface in the center of the bottom wall, and a layer of polyurethane configured to fittingly engage the recessed surface. 
     
     
         6 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 1 , further including a plurality of grooves disposed on each of the pockets, the plurality of grooves extending axially from the top wall towards the bottom wall, the grooves are generally parallel with each other. 
     
     
         7 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein each lens includes a plurality of vertically extending energy directors are also formed in the interior surface of the lens, the energy directors operable to facilitate ultrasonic welding of the lenses to the body. 
     
     
         8 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of vertical exterior ribs are disposed on each lens. 
     
     
         9 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein each of the pair of ends are rounded. 
     
     
         10 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the body is formed of cast aluminum and includes a center portion formed on the top, the center portion having an opening. 
     
     
         11 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 10 , wherein the pocket is a plurality of pockets formed on each of the angled sides, each of the plurality of pockets formed by a vertical surface and a horizontal surface, a plurality of corners formed by one of the horizontal surface adjacent a vertical surface, the horizontal and vertical surfaces also forming a step;
 the lens having a horizontal and vertical interior surface, the lens configured to seat within one of the plurality of pockets; and   a plurality of ribs extend from the top to the bottom wall, the ribs forming plurality of pockets stacked on top of each other so as to form a stack of pockets, each of the plurality of ribs extending beyond the corner formed by adjacent horizontal and vertical surfaces.   
     
     
         12 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 11 , wherein each of the vertical surfaces includes a concave depression so as to reduce mass of the road marker and help direct tire pressure transversely across the body of the road marker. 
     
     
         13 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 11 , wherein the horizontal and vertical surfaces being generally orthogonal to each other. 
     
     
         14 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 11 , wherein each lens has an outer surface which extends at an approximately degree angle and the horizontal and vertical interior surface are orthogonal to each other, the lenses are mounted within each pocket, the outer surface of the lens is recessed slightly from ribs and corners which define each pocket. 
     
     
         15 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 11 , wherein the bottom wall surface of the marker is generally planar with a series of grooves with a tire tread like pattern formed in the surface to receive glue. 
     
     
         16 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 11 , further including semicircular notches formed on each of the rounded ends to facilitate the gripping of the marker for insertion in the road surface. 
     
     
         17 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 11 , further including a retroreflective sheeting disposed along the vertical surface of the lens. 
     
     
         18 . The road marker as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the bottom wall includes a plurality of grooves operable to increase the retention ability of the road marker to the road surface, the plurality of grooves including a plurality of horizontal grooves extending in a longitudinal direction, a pair of radially extending grooves extending radially from a respective point on the center of the longitudinal axis to a respective end portion of the body.