Patent Application
20240337072
The disclosure relates to road heater systems and more particularly pertains to a new road heater system for preventing ice and snow accumulation on a roadway.
The prior art discloses myriad road heater systems for preventing ice and snow accumulation on a roadway. However, the prior art fails to describe a system in which an electric generator is electrically coupled to a plurality of rebar in the roadway so that the roadway is heated by resistive heating when an electrical current is sent from the electric generator and through the plurality of rebar. Such a system is desirable because it uses structural components of the roadway to also act as electrical heating components.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a roadway comprising a pavement and a plurality of rebar in which the plurality of rebar is embedded in the pavement. A control circuit is electrically coupled to the plurality of rebar. An electric generator is electrically coupled to the control circuit and selectively directs an electrical current from the electric generator through the plurality of rebar, thereby heating the plurality of rebar and the pavement via resistive heating.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
An air thermometer 24 is electrically coupled to the control circuit 18 and is positioned such that the air thermometer 24 is configured for sensing a temperature of a volume of air 26 adjacent to the roadway 12. The control circuit 18 is programmed to direct the electrical current through the rebar 16 when the temperature of the volume of air 26 is less than a predetermined air temperature. The predetermined air temperature may be selected such that the roadway 12 begins being heated before ice forms on the roadway 12. For example, the predetermined air temperature may be set at 32.0 degrees Fahrenheit, so that the roadway 12 is likely to begin being heated before ice forms on the roadway 12, thereby preventing ice formation at all. The predetermined air temperature may be set at a temperature above 32.0 degrees Fahrenheit, for example, in cases where the roadway 12 does not heat with sufficient speed to avoid ice formation on the roadway 12.
A road thermometer 28 is electrically coupled to the control circuit 18 and is positioned to sense a temperature of the pavement 14. The control circuit 18 is programmed to terminate directing the electrical current through the rebar 16 when the temperature of the pavement 14 is greater than the predetermined pavement 14 temperature. The predetermined pavement 14 temperature may be set at higher than the freezing point of water to ensure that water on the roadway 12 does not freeze. The predetermined pavement 14 temperature may also be set at temperatures which accelerate evaporation of water on the roadway 12. For example, the predetermined pavement 14 temperature may be set at between 50 degrees Fahrenheit and 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a first embodiment 30 of the road heater system 10, the control circuit 18 is programmed to activate the electric generator 20 when the temperature of the volume of air 26 is less than the predetermined air temperature and to deactivate the electric generator 20 when the temperature of the pavement 14 is greater than the predetermined pavement 14 temperature. The electrical current may therefore be directed through the rebar 16 immediately after it has been generated. The electric generator 20 in the first embodiment 30 may have a steam turbine, a gas turbine, an internal combustion engine, or like power source favored for on-demand power generation. However, the electric generator 20 in the first embodiment 30 also may be a wind turbine, a solar panel, or the like.
In a second embodiment 32, the electric generator 20 comprises a power storage 34 and is configured to electrically charge the power storage 34. The power storage 34 comprises a battery 36 but may comprise an alternate power storage 34 device such as a flywheel, a pumped hydroelectric energy storage, or the like. The electric generator 20 comprises a solar panel 38 which is electrically coupled to the power storage 34. The solar panel 38 charges the power storage 34 when sufficient sunlight is made available, and the electrical current is directed from the power storage 34 through the rebar 16 via the control circuit 18. The electric generator 20 of the second embodiment 32 also may be a wind turbine, gas turbine, internal combustion engine, or the like.
In use, the control circuit 18 operates automatically to initiate directing the electrical current from the electric generator 20 through the rebar 16 to heat the road when the air temperature is measured below the predetermined air temperature. Then the control circuit 18 stops directing the electrical current through the rebar 16 when the pavement 14 temperature is measured above the predetermined pavement 14 temperature. In the first embodiment 30, the control circuit 18 operates the electric generator 20 when the electrical current is needed to travel through the rebar 16. In the second embodiment 32, the electric generator 20 operates when an input energy source such as sunlight is made available or on an alternate schedule to charge the power storage 34. Then the control circuit 18 direct the electrical current from the power storage 34 through the rebar 16 according to the air temperature and pavement 14 temperature as previously described.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
