DEVICE AND METHOD FOR REPAIR OF POT HOLES

DISPOSITIF ET METHODE POUR BOUCHER LES "NIDS DE POULE"

English Abstract

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR REPAIR OF POT HOLES
ABSTRACT
Repair of pot holes in public roads, streets and
highways is facilitated and improved by the use of a
simple holding device which is firmly anchored in place
in the pot hole before filling the hole with conventional
road patching material which then permanently unites with
the holding device.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive
property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A method of repairing pot holes in streets
and roadways, the steps comprising:
first, firmly anchoring a loose mass of randomly
oriented flexible filamentary material to the bottom of the
hole as to substantially occupy the volume of the hole with
said loose mass of material;
second, filling the thus prepared hole with con-
ventional road patching compound; and
third, compacting the thus prepared patch to sub-
stantially street level.
2. The method of claim 2 in which said filamentary
material comprises metallic wire.
3. The method of claim 1 in which said filamentary
material comprises sisal fiber.
4. The method of claim 1 in which said filamentary
material comprises synthetic resin.
5. A device useful in the patching of pot holes
in streets and roads comprising:
a loose mass of randonly oriented flexible filaments;
and
clamping means securing said filaments together over
a minor portion of the length of each filament to provide a
unit which can be firmly anchored in the bottom of a pot hole
by anchor means driven through said clamping means into the
bottom of the hole.
-5-

6. A device as defined by claim 5 in which said
filaments comprise metallic wire.
7. A device as defined by claim 5 in which said
filaments comprise sisal wire.
8. A device as defined by claim 5 in which said
filaments comprise a synthetic resin.
-6-

Description

~L95~
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTI ON
As is c~mmon knowledge to practically everyone,
the repair of pot holes or chuck holes as they are sometimes
called, is an ongoing problem everywhere. The more drastic
the weather changes between alternate freezes and thaws, the
rnore wide~spread the problem becomes ana the more time and
money is spent by ~ocal, State and Federal Governments in
effecting repairs. At the present time, the usual method is
s.imply to pour or shovel into the hole a mixture of sand or
i~ yravel and asphalt illi~g the :hole to somewhat above street
level and then tamping or roll.ing it into place. While this
is ef~ective initially, it is fa:r from permanent and again
dcpending on weather conditions and traffic volume, the patch
tcnds to deteriorate by breaking up and working out of the hole.
1~ Prior art attempts to improve such repairs may be.found in the

following U.S. Patents: 3,699,854, ~,915,582, 4,07~,948 and
~,113,~01.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE l~lV~;N~l~ION
It has been found that by a very simple expedient,
pot hole patches can be made much more permanent. The
prohlem with the conventional patch is that there is really
nothing to hold it in place other than the adhesive effect
o the asphalt acting between the patch and the bottom and
sides of the hole. Genexally speaking, the smaller the hole,
the more difficult it is to patch it by conventional methods.
By first firmly anchoring a loose mass of elongated flexible
filaments to the bottom of the hole so that they substantially
fill the hole and then filling the hole with conventional
patching compound such as asphal1;, the patch becomes a much
l~ more permanent repair becau~e the patching compound unites
p~rr~n~ntly with the anchoring filamentary material.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 shows one of the units, one or more of
which are anchored in the hole prior to filling the patching
compound;
Figure ~ is a vertical sectional view of a completed
roadway patch; and
Figure 3 is a top plan view of a pot hole with the
prefilling material anchored to the bottom preparatory to filling
the patching compound.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INv~LION
Referring first to Figure 1, a filler unit ;n~ a
plurality of elongated flP~;hle randomly nr;~nt~ mPnt~ 10 which can be
-- 2 --

T p ~ '
of any suitable material such as rnetallic wire, sisal fi~ers,
syn~he-t~c resin filclments and ~he like. A mass of such filaments
~e held together at a single location preferably substantially
the center of the mass by any con~enient means such for example,
5 hy clamping between a pair of discs 12. The discs 12 may be
metallic, wood or synthetic resin and they may be riveted, bolted
or otherwise joined to each other to clamp the mass of filaments
therebetween.
As indicated most clearly in Figure 2, which shows a
patch completed in accordance with the present invention, a
plurality o these units shown in Figure 1 are first anchored
in the hole 13 by means of any form of elongated anchor members
14 such as nails, spikes, staples or the like dri~en through
substantial:Ly the center of the disc 12. It is contemplated
~h~t-the placing of the anchor members would be done using
som~ form o~ gun which would "shoot" the anchoring members
through the disc 12 and deep enough in to the ground to hold
~he device firmly in place. A suf'ficient number of these are
pl~ced in the hole so that the 1003ély inter-twined ~ilaments
loosely occupy the entir~ volume of the hole.
Following placing of khese holding devices in the
hole, the conventional patching step follows by pouring or
shoveling an asphaltic patching compouna 16 into the hole 13
and tamping or rolling to substantially the street level. As
soon as the patch "sets up", the patching compound and the
filamentary form unite in a manner which greatly increases the
holding power of the finished patch as compared to a conventional
patch.
If desired, a fabric or other mesh 18 may be placed
over the pa ch and impre~na_ed with asphal~ ~rior to rolling or
tamping so that it becomes a part of the finished patch and

~-ov.ides add.i~.ional permanenc~ by tenaing to seal the edges
o~ khe pa-tch around khe periphery of the hole.
While preferred embodiments of the present invention
have been herein shown and disclosed, Applicant claims the
benefit of ~ full range of equivalents within the scope of
the appended claims.
.