Paver for Porous Pavement

Abstract

A porous pavement system and a method of maintaining the porous pavement system are disclosed. A combination of porous and non-porous pavers are laid out to create a porous pavement. A receptacle or retainer for receiving a tool is in incorporated into the porous pavers, to facilitate lifting the pavers by means of the tool. A cradle may be used to hold multiple pavers.

Description

[0001]This application claims priority from provisional application no. 61 / 184,034, filed on Jun. 4, 2009, and from provisional application no. 61 / 249,068, filed on Oct. 6, 2009. These two applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.BACKGROUND INFORMATION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The invention relates to a porous paver. More particularly, the invention relates to a porous paver and a method of providing a porous pavement.[0004]2. Description of the Prior Art[0005]It is known to use porous pavement to provide pavement that allows stormwater to infiltrate back into the ground naturally, rather than to run off. The porous pavement made with pavers typically includes a method of laying out non-porous pavers to provide a load-bearing pavement surface, with regularly dispersed void areas between the pavers. The non-porous pavers are typically concrete blocks, bricks, or reinforced plastic mats. The void areas are then filled with gravel, sand, or grass t...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]The hybrid paver is a bi-material paver block that provides the desired load-bearing properties of conventional non-porous pavers and the desired filtration properties of porous pavement for allowing passage of stormwater through the pavement into the ground. The hybrid paver according to the invention comprises an outer portion that is non-porous and an inner portion that is porous. In other words, the hybrid paver has a donut-like non-porous outer portion and a donut-hole-like porous inner portion. The outer portion includes the entire perimeter of the hybrid paver, is a structural wall around the porous inner portion, the structural wall having the necessary strength characteristics to provide the desired load-bearing strength of the pavement.

[0010]The inner portion is constructed of a porous concrete that provides a specified filtration rate of water, typically stormwater. Additives may be mixed with the porous concrete to filter out specific pollutants. it may be desirable to be able to remove the inner portion from the outer portion for cleaning or replacement. For this reason, the hybrid paver may be constructed as a modular unit from which the inner portion may be readily removed or inserted, In this case, the inner portion is const...

Problems solved by technology

With time, however, the porosity is substantially diminished, because the porous material becomes clogged with sediment, debris, or other materials that prevent the stormwater from flowing through the pavement.

For example, if the porous pavement is laid down and then subjected to freeze-thaw cycles before it is cured, the pavement will crack and crumble.

The remedy for dogged or cracked porous pavement is to dig it up and replace it, a costly undertaking.

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