Œil-de-chat (dispositif rétroréfléchissant)

A cat's eye or road stud is a retroreflective safety device used in road marking and was the first of a range of raised pavement markers. The cat's eye design originated in the UK in 1934 and is today used all over the world. The original form consisted of two pairs of retroreflectors set into a white rubber dome, mounted in a cast iron housing. This is the kind that marks the centre of the road, with one pair of cat's eyes showing in each direction. A single-ended form has become widely used in other colours at road margins and as lane dividers. Cat's eyes are particularly valuable in fog and are largely resistant to damage from snow ploughs. A key feature of the cat's eye is the flexible rubber dome which is occasionally deformed by the passage of traffic. A fixed rubber wiper cleans the surface of the reflectors as they sink below the surface of the road (the base tends to hold water after a shower of rain, making this process even more efficient). The rubber dome is protected from impact damage by metal 'kerbs' – which also give tactile and audible feedback for wandering drivers. The inventor of cat's eyes was Percy Shaw of Boothtown, Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. When the tram-lines were removed in the nearby suburb of Ambler Thorn, he realised that he had been using the polished steel rails to navigate at night. The name "cat's eye" comes from Shaw's inspiration for the device: the eyeshine reflecting from the eyes of a cat. In 1934, he patented his invention (patents Nos. 436,290 and 457,536), and on 15 March 1935, founded Reflecting Roadstuds Limited in Halifax to manufacture the items. The name Catseye is their trademark. The retroreflecting lens had been invented six years earlier for use in advertising signs by Richard Hollins Murray, an accountant from Herefordshire and, as Shaw acknowledged, they had contributed to his idea. The blackouts of World War II (1939–1945) and the shuttered car headlights then in use demonstrated the value of Shaw's invention and helped popularise their mass use in the UK.

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Concepts associés (3)

Road surface

A road surface (English), or pavement (American), is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, macadam, hoggin, cobblestone and granite setts were extensively used, but these have mostly been replaced by asphalt or concrete laid on a compacted base course. Asphalt mixtures have been used in pavement construction since the beginning of the 20th century and are of two types: metalled (hard-surfaced) and unmetalled roads.

Œil-de-chat (dispositif rétroréfléchissant)

Un œil-de-chat (en anglais cat's eye) est un type de dispositif rétroréfléchissant inséré dans la chaussée, qui utilise une réflexion de la lumière des phares (similaire à un catadioptre) pour marquer la bordure de la voie de circulation. La législation routière locale a rendu ce dispositif populaire sur l'ensemble des routes du Royaume-Uni et à Hong Kong. L'œil-de-chat a été breveté en 1934 au Royaume-Uni par l'homme d'affaires (1890-1976), même s'il a sans douté été inventé deux ans plus tôt par Frederick Walter Madeley Lee (1904-1977).

Route

thumb|upright=1.0|Effet de lumière sur une route australienne. thumb|À Grimaldi (Italie), cette route secondaire semble plonger dans la mer Méditerranée. Une route () est au sens littéral une voie terrestre (au niveau du sol ou sur viaduc) aménagée pour permettre la circulation de véhicules à roues. Ce terme s'applique plutôt aux voies importantes situées en rase campagne et ne peut être apparenté à une rue. Dans les pays vastes et peu peuplés, à la fin du , de nombreuses routes étaient encore des chemins empierrés ou damés (les "sentiers battus").