US3713368A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Road joint seal and end dam construction
Assignee: Fel Pro Inc
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Filing: 1971-10-26
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Granted: 1973-01-30
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Expires: 1991-10-26
Abstract
Abstract A joint seal assembly for adjacent, slightly spaced slabs of roadway and deck structures. A joint seal and end dam includes a pair of elongate elastomeric side pads secured to the upper surfaces of the slabs, and an integral elastomeric bridging joint membrane spanning the gap between the slabs. The joint membrane assumes an upstanding arched configuration in transverse cross section. When the slabs move relative to each other, as at longitudinal, transverse or skewed joints, in all design positions of movement of the joint membrane and the slabs, substantially no reaction force is exerted on the slabs, and the side pads or on the means securing the side pads to the slabs. The end dam is self-cleaning. Such an end dam is made in sections configured to be sealingly secured in an end-to-end array, whereby an end dam assembly of substantial length may be formed.
Inventors
- 👤 Dowell D Mc
- 👤 D Czernik
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 13:13
CPC Classifications
E; E01; E01D; E01D19/00; E01D19/06
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 33
Claim 1
Independent Claim
319 words
A deck joint assembly comprising a pair of generally horizontally disposed elongate adjacent slabs supported for movement relative to each other, providing upper roadway surfaces, and being positioned beside each other, said pair of slabs being narrowly spaced from each other to define a narrow gap therebetween, and an end dam assembly secured to said slabs at adjacent edges sealingly bridging said gap, said end dam assembly comprising elongate end dam sections sealingly secured to each other in an end-to-end array, means sealingly securing said end dam sections to each otHer, each of said end dam sections comprising a pair of elongate elastomeric side pads having their lower surfaces sealingly secured to upper surfaces of said slabs and being secured at the edges of said slabs adjacent said gap, and having their upper surfaces generally level with the upper roadway surface of said slabs thereby to serve as a roadway surface, each said slab defining a notch at said gap edge within which a side pad is disposed, said pads being generally parallel to each other and being spaced apart adjacent said gap, a thin elongate, elastomeric joint membrane sealingly secured to each of the side pads and sealingly spanning said gap, said joint membrane being substantially thinner than said side pads and being highly flexible and having a configuration in transverse cross section of an upstanding arch whereby in all design positions of movement of the membrane and the slabs, substantially no reaction force is exerted on the side pads or on the means securing said pads to said slabs, each said side pad including an elongate, expansive reinforcing member extending substantially along the length of the side pad, and anchoring means for anchoring said side pads to said slabs, each said side pad defining a resilient inner surface confronting a surface of said joint membrane, and said reinforcing members being spaced away from said resilient inner edges.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
319 words
A deck joint assembly comprising a pair of generally horizontally disposed elongate adjacent slabs supported for movement relative to each other, providing upper roadway surfaces, and being positioned beside each other, said pair of slabs being narrowly spaced from each other to define a narrow gap therebetween, and an end dam assembly secured to said slabs at adjacent edges sealingly bridging said gap, said end dam assembly comprising elongate end dam sections sealingly secured to each other in an end-to-end array, means sealingly securing said end dam sections to each otHer, each of said end dam sections comprising a pair of elongate elastomeric side pads having their lower surfaces sealingly secured to upper surfaces of said slabs and being secured at the edges of said slabs adjacent said gap, and having their upper surfaces generally level with the upper roadway surface of said slabs thereby to serve as a roadway surface, each said slab defining a notch at said gap edge within which a side pad is disposed, said pads being generally parallel to each other and being spaced apart adjacent said gap, a thin elongate, elastomeric joint membrane sealingly secured to each of the side pads and sealingly spanning said gap, said joint membrane being substantially thinner than said side pads and being highly flexible and having a configuration in transverse cross section of an upstanding arch whereby in all design positions of movement of the membrane and the slabs, substantially no reaction force is exerted on the side pads or on the means securing said pads to said slabs, each said side pad including an elongate, expansive reinforcing member extending substantially along the length of the side pad, and anchoring means for anchoring said side pads to said slabs, each said side pad defining a resilient inner surface confronting a surface of said joint membrane, and said reinforcing members being spaced away from said resilient inner edges.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
319 words
A deck joint assembly comprising a pair of generally horizontally disposed elongate adjacent slabs supported for movement relative to each other, providing upper roadway surfaces, and being positioned beside each other, said pair of slabs being narrowly spaced from each other to define a narrow gap therebetween, and an end dam assembly secured to said slabs at adjacent edges sealingly bridging said gap, said end dam assembly comprising elongate end dam sections sealingly secured to each other in an end-to-end array, means sealingly securing said end dam sections to each otHer, each of said end dam sections comprising a pair of elongate elastomeric side pads having their lower surfaces sealingly secured to upper surfaces of said slabs and being secured at the edges of said slabs adjacent said gap, and having their upper surfaces generally level with the upper roadway surface of said slabs thereby to serve as a roadway surface, each said slab defining a notch at said gap edge within which a side pad is disposed, said pads being generally parallel to each other and being spaced apart adjacent said gap, a thin elongate, elastomeric joint membrane sealingly secured to each of the side pads and sealingly spanning said gap, said joint membrane being substantially thinner than said side pads and being highly flexible and having a configuration in transverse cross section of an upstanding arch whereby in all design positions of movement of the membrane and the slabs, substantially no reaction force is exerted on the side pads or on the means securing said pads to said slabs, each said side pad including an elongate, expansive reinforcing member extending substantially along the length of the side pad, and anchoring means for anchoring said side pads to said slabs, each said side pad defining a resilient inner surface confronting a surface of said joint membrane, and said reinforcing members being spaced away from said resilient inner edges.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
319 words
A deck joint assembly comprising a pair of generally horizontally disposed elongate adjacent slabs supported for movement relative to each other, providing upper roadway surfaces, and being positioned beside each other, said pair of slabs being narrowly spaced from each other to define a narrow gap therebetween, and an end dam assembly secured to said slabs at adjacent edges sealingly bridging said gap, said end dam assembly comprising elongate end dam sections sealingly secured to each other in an end-to-end array, means sealingly securing said end dam sections to each otHer, each of said end dam sections comprising a pair of elongate elastomeric side pads having their lower surfaces sealingly secured to upper surfaces of said slabs and being secured at the edges of said slabs adjacent said gap, and having their upper surfaces generally level with the upper roadway surface of said slabs thereby to serve as a roadway surface, each said slab defining a notch at said gap edge within which a side pad is disposed, said pads being generally parallel to each other and being spaced apart adjacent said gap, a thin elongate, elastomeric joint membrane sealingly secured to each of the side pads and sealingly spanning said gap, said joint membrane being substantially thinner than said side pads and being highly flexible and having a configuration in transverse cross section of an upstanding arch whereby in all design positions of movement of the membrane and the slabs, substantially no reaction force is exerted on the side pads or on the means securing said pads to said slabs, each said side pad including an elongate, expansive reinforcing member extending substantially along the length of the side pad, and anchoring means for anchoring said side pads to said slabs, each said side pad defining a resilient inner surface confronting a surface of said joint membrane, and said reinforcing members being spaced away from said resilient inner edges.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
36 words
A deck joint assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein each of said side pads has a reinforcing member of metal embedded therein, said member being substantially parallel to the upper roadway surfaces of said slabs.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
51 words
A deck joint assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein at one end of each section, thin membrane segments project longitudinally from the side pads to underlie and to be sealingly secured to lower surfaces of the next adjoining side pads, thereby sealingly securing said end dam sections to each other.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
36 words
A deck joint assembly in accordance with claim 3, wherein opposite ends of the side pads define complementarily bevelled end faces, and said end faces of adjacent end dam sections are sealingly secured to each other.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
30 words
A deck joint assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein joint membranes of adjacent end-to-end, end dam sections overlap each other and are adhesively and sealingly secured to each other.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
A deck joint assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein said joint membrane embeds a fabric layer.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
21 words
A deck joint assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein said side pads and joint membrane are integrally formed of rubber.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
A deck joint assembly in accordance with claim 7, wherein said side pads and joint membrane are integrally molded.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
25 words
A deck joint assembly in accordance with claim 1 wherein said end dam sections are positioned at slab edges along a longitudinally extending roadway gap.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
208 words
An elongate end dam section for securance to spaced, closely adjacent roadway slabs supported for relative movement with respect to each other, said end dam section being adapted to be sealingly secured to a next preceding end dam section and to the adjacent roadway slabs, said end dam section comprising a pair of generally parallel, spaced apart elongate elastomeric side pads, each side pad defining an expansive upper surface adapted to serve as a roadway surface and a lower surface adapted to be sealingly secured to a roadway slab, and each side pad including an elongate, expansive reinforcing member extending along the length of the side pad and defining means for securing said end dam section to slabs, a Thin elongate elastomeric flexible joint membrane sealingly secured to said side pads for sealingly spanning a gap between roadway slabs, said thin joint membrane having an upstanding arched configuration in transverse cross section, said membrane being highly flexible and very substantially thinner than said side pads and being proportioned to flex and to move without exerting substantial reaction forces on said side pads, each side pad defining a Resilient inner edge confronting a surface of said joint membrane, said reinforcing members being spaced away from said resilient inner edges.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
208 words
An elongate end dam section for securance to spaced, closely adjacent roadway slabs supported for relative movement with respect to each other, said end dam section being adapted to be sealingly secured to a next preceding end dam section and to the adjacent roadway slabs, said end dam section comprising a pair of generally parallel, spaced apart elongate elastomeric side pads, each side pad defining an expansive upper surface adapted to serve as a roadway surface and a lower surface adapted to be sealingly secured to a roadway slab, and each side pad including an elongate, expansive reinforcing member extending along the length of the side pad and defining means for securing said end dam section to slabs, a Thin elongate elastomeric flexible joint membrane sealingly secured to said side pads for sealingly spanning a gap between roadway slabs, said thin joint membrane having an upstanding arched configuration in transverse cross section, said membrane being highly flexible and very substantially thinner than said side pads and being proportioned to flex and to move without exerting substantial reaction forces on said side pads, each side pad defining a Resilient inner edge confronting a surface of said joint membrane, said reinforcing members being spaced away from said resilient inner edges.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
51 words
An elongate end dam section in accordance with claim 9, wherein each of said side pads embeds a said elongate reinforcing member, and said members are metallic, and each of said side pads and reinforcing members defines a plurality of aligned bolt holes for securing said end dam section to slabs.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
23 words
An elongate end dam section in accordance with claim 10, wherein said side pads and said joint membrane are integrally molded of rubber.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
56 words
An elongate end dam section in accordance with claim 10, wherein at one end, thin membrane segments project longitudinally from the side pads, said membrane segments being adapted to underlie and to be sealingly secured to lower surfaces of next adjoining side pads, thereby to facilitate sealing securance of adjacent end dam sections to each other.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
22 words
An elongate end dam section in accordance with claim 10, wherein opposite ends of the side pads define complementarily bevelled end faces.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
18 words
An elongate end dam section in accordance with claim 10, wherein said joint membrane embeds a fabric layer.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
23 words
An elongate end dam section in accordance with claim 10, wherein said side pads and said joint membrane are integrally formed of rubber.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
45 words
An elongate end dam section in accordance with claim 10 wherein said joint membrane is secured to said side pads adjacent their lower edges and the side pad edges confronting the upstanding arched section of said joint membrane taper upwardly and away from said membrane.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
141 words
An elongate end dam section in accordance with claim 10, wherein each side pad contains a said elongate expansive reinforcing member of metal extending along substantially the entire length of the side pad and defining a plurality of aligned holes in said side pad and said reinforcing member for securing said side pad to a roadway slab, said reinforcing members lying generally parallel to the upper and lower surfaces of said side pads, said membrane lying entirely below the level of the upper surface of said side pads, the resilient inner edges of the side pads confronting surfaces of said joint membrane to define resilient, upwardly opening spaces from which debris may be discharged extending along the length of said end dam section, said metallic reinforcing members being spaced away from said resilient inner edges and away from said joint membrane.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
46 words
An elongate end dam section in accordance with claim 18 wherein said reinforcing members lie closer to said lower surfaces than to said upper surfaces and wherein said joint membrane is sealingly secured to said side pads at said inner edges in the lower regions thereof.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
49 words
An elongate end dam section in accordance with claim 18 wherein said joint membrane embeds a fabric layer and projects longitudinally beyond said side pads wherein joint membranes of adjacent end-to-end dam sections are adapted to overlay each other and to be adhesively and sealingly secured to each other.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
23 words
An elongate end dam section in accordance with claim 20 wherein said side pads and said joint membrane are integrally molded of rubber.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
212 words
A joint assembly comprising a pair of generally horizontally disposed elongate adjacent slabs supported for relative movement and providing upper roadway surfaces, said pair of slabs being narrowly spaced from each other to define a narrow gap therebetween, and an end dam assembly secured to said slabs at adjacent edges sealingly bridging said gap, means sealingly securing said end dam assembly to said slabs, said end dam assembly comprising elastomeric side pads secured to the slab edges adjacent said gap, said pads being parallel and spaced apart adjacent said gap and being disposed within notches in said slabs at said gap edges, a thin elastomeric joint membrane sealingly secured to said side pads and sealingly spanning said gap, said joint membrane being substantially thinner thAn said side pads and assuming an upstanding arched configuration in transverse cross section, whereby in all design positions of movement of the membrane and the slabs, substantially not reaction force is exerted on the side pads or the means securing said assembly to said slabs, said joint membrane being integrally formed to span a very substantial length of said gap, said side pads being very substantially shorter than said membrane, each side pad being formed of a plurality of side pad elements sealingly secured in end-to-end relation.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
212 words
A joint assembly comprising a pair of generally horizontally disposed elongate adjacent slabs supported for relative movement and providing upper roadway surfaces, said pair of slabs being narrowly spaced from each other to define a narrow gap therebetween, and an end dam assembly secured to said slabs at adjacent edges sealingly bridging said gap, means sealingly securing said end dam assembly to said slabs, said end dam assembly comprising elastomeric side pads secured to the slab edges adjacent said gap, said pads being parallel and spaced apart adjacent said gap and being disposed within notches in said slabs at said gap edges, a thin elastomeric joint membrane sealingly secured to said side pads and sealingly spanning said gap, said joint membrane being substantially thinner thAn said side pads and assuming an upstanding arched configuration in transverse cross section, whereby in all design positions of movement of the membrane and the slabs, substantially not reaction force is exerted on the side pads or the means securing said assembly to said slabs, said joint membrane being integrally formed to span a very substantial length of said gap, said side pads being very substantially shorter than said membrane, each side pad being formed of a plurality of side pad elements sealingly secured in end-to-end relation.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
22 words
A joint assembly in accordance with claim 22, wherein said joint membrane assumes an inverted, generally U-shaped configuration in transverse cross section.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
36 words
A joint assembly in accordance with claim 22, wherein opposite ends of the side pad elements define complementarily bevelled end faces, and said end faces of adjacent end dam sections are adhesively secured to each other.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
16 words
A joint assembly in accordance with claim 22, wherein said joint membrane embeds a fabric layer.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
164 words
An elongate end dam section for securance to spaced, closely adjacent roadway slabs supported for relative movement with respect to each other, said end dam section being adapted to be sealingly secured to a next preceding end dam section and to the adjacent roadway slabs, said end dam section comprising a pair of parallel, spaced apart elongate elastomeric side pads, each defining an expansive upper surface adapted to serve as a roadway surface, a thin elongate elastomeric flexible joint membrane sealingly secured to said side pads for sealingly spanning a gap between roadway slabs, said thin joint membrane assuming an upstanding arched configuration in transverse cross section, said membrane being very substantially thinner than said side pads and being proportioned to flex and to move without exerting substantial reaction forces on said side pads, and wherein said section is bent transversely of its length into a generally L-shaped configuration to sealingly span a gap at the edges of said slabs and at adjacent curving.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
164 words
An elongate end dam section for securance to spaced, closely adjacent roadway slabs supported for relative movement with respect to each other, said end dam section being adapted to be sealingly secured to a next preceding end dam section and to the adjacent roadway slabs, said end dam section comprising a pair of parallel, spaced apart elongate elastomeric side pads, each defining an expansive upper surface adapted to serve as a roadway surface, a thin elongate elastomeric flexible joint membrane sealingly secured to said side pads for sealingly spanning a gap between roadway slabs, said thin joint membrane assuming an upstanding arched configuration in transverse cross section, said membrane being very substantially thinner than said side pads and being proportioned to flex and to move without exerting substantial reaction forces on said side pads, and wherein said section is bent transversely of its length into a generally L-shaped configuration to sealingly span a gap at the edges of said slabs and at adjacent curving.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
45 words
An elongate end dam section in accordance with claim 26, wherein each of said side pads embeds an elongate metal reinforcing member, and each of said side pads and reinforcing members defines a plurality of bolt holes for securing said end dam section to slabs.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-01-30 | 1976-07-31 | 1977-01-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-01-30 | 1980-07-31 | 1981-01-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-01-30 | 1984-07-31 | 1985-01-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |