Screed assembly for road paving machines, and a method for repaving road surfaces

A road paving machine used for repaving a road surface, having a predetermined width dimension, with new paving material, and having a screed assembly mounted thereon, wherein said screed assembly comprises:

• a plurality of vertically oriented screed segments disposed adjacent to each other in a horizontally extending array,
• wherein each one of said plurality of screed segments is individually and independently movable within a vertical plane and pivotally movable around a horizontally extending axis located at a first predetermined location upon each one of said plurality of screed segments;
• and
• a plurality of single actuators respectively connected to each one of said plurality of screed segments, at a second predetermined location vertically offset from said horizontally extending axis located at said first predetermined location, for pivotally moving individual ones of said plurality of screed segments within said vertical planes and around said horizontally extending axis located at said first predetermined location upon each one of said plurality of screed segments, depending upon the extent to which each one of said plurality of single actuators is extended or retracted such that a lower, front edge portion of a particular screed segment can be pivotally adjusted in an angular manner within its vertical plane so as to alter its angle of attack and thereby permit a predetermined amount of new paving material to pass beneath said lower, front edge portion of said particular screed segment in order to vary the amount of new paving material passing beneath said lower, front edge portion of said particular screed segment whereby the density of the new paving material, comprising the newly paved road surface, will be changed such that when the newly paved road surface is rolled, the resulting density of the newly paved rolled road surface will be substantially constant regardless of ruts, tracks, depressions, or potholes present within the original road surface being repaved.

A method of using a modified free floating paving screed that can apply a paved mat of different material densities, to pave a road surface which has planar areas and depressions located therewithin, comprising the steps of:

• depositing roadway material onto the road surface to be repaved wherein a first predetermined material density of roadway material is deposited upon first areas of the road surface that do not have depressions located therewithin and wherein said areas are inherently accessible to effective compaction, and wherein a second predetermined material density of roadway material, greater than said first predetermined material density roadway material, is deposited upon second areas of the road surface that do have depressions located therewithin, wherein said areas inherently afford reduced accessibility to effective compaction compared to said first areas of the road surface that do not have depressions located therewithin;
• and
• moving at least one roller over the road surface so as to compress and compact the roadway material comprising the first and second predetermined mat densities of roadway material respectively located upon the first areas of the road surface that do not have depressions located therewithin and the second areas of the road surface that have depressions located therewithin,
• whereby the finalized compaction density of the roadway material, compressed and compacted onto the first and second areas of the road surface as a result of the roller moving over the first and second areas of the road surface will be uniform as a result of said second predetermined mat density of roadway material, which is greater than said first predetermined mat density of roadway material, said area of greater material density receiving a requisite increase in mass such that finalized compaction density is achieved irrespective of the inherent lesser effective compaction ratio that said area of road surface depression located therewithin will receive.