Abstract:
A stripe lay-out device configured to be mounted on and operate from a motor vehicle includes a telescopically extendable tube assembly, which can be controllably displaced so as to position one or more paint guns at desired locations relative to a road or pavement surfaces for paint pre-marking such surfaces, the extendable tube assembly being swingable between horizontal working and vertical travel and parked non-working dispositions in response to operator command.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims priority from U.S. Prov. App. No. 60/656,075, filed Feb. 24, 2005, the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The invention relates to a mobile delivery system. In particular, the invention relates to a vehicle mountable stripe lay-out device for pre-marking traffic striping applications.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Roadway or pavement markings play an important role in traffic safety, and the safety of roadway industry workers. Conventional, and generally accepted, methods of pre-markings pavement utilize teams of two or more persons manually placing initial marks on pavement and connecting these marks with paint marks, which are placed along a string line. Typically, the pre-marking operation takes place on foot, in live traffic with significant exposure of the workers. The most common types of pavement markings are longitudinal stripes, which divide traffic in opposite directions or channelize traffic in similar directions of travel. Since pre-marking of great stretches of roadways and pavement require substantial efforts, the entire process is extremely time consuming and labor intensive.  
         [0006]     While automation of the pre-marking operation has increased the efficiency of this process, as well as the safety of workers, it also has introduced complicated and rather cost-prohibitive systems that can be afforded only by a selected few.  
         [0007]     For example, a striping lay-out machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,516 includes an auxiliary cab adapted to house an operator and equipped with a control system for operating the lay-out device. The device, as disclosed in this patent, requires substantial modifications of the existing vehicles, and thereby, increases the overall cost of such device. Furthermore, the disclosed device includes a large number of mechanical, electrical and pneumatic components rendering the assembly/disassembly and maintenance of the device time-ineffective and costly. Although the art knows quite a few differently configured lay-out devices, the disadvantages of the device disclosed in the above-mentioned patent are rather typical for the known devices.  
         [0008]     A need, therefore, exists for a traffic stripe lay-out device that has a simple and cost effective structure.  
         [0009]     A further need exists for a traffic stripe lay-out device that can be easily mounted and dismounted to a vehicle.  
         [0010]     Another need exists for a traffic stripe lay-out device that can be quickly converted from an operating configuration to a transport configuration for driving at highway speeds.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     The present invention is directed to a traffic lay-out device that satisfies at least one of these needs. Operators involved in the field of pre-marking comply with the same business rule as any other business: output versus cost. To provide a high output in the pre-marking field, the operator has to apply stripes along as great a distance as possible in the shortest period of time. Accordingly, the inventive lay-out device is so configured that a vehicle equipped with this device is able to operate at a comfortable, yet safe (0 to 35 mph) speed during the pre-marking process.  
         [0012]     As to the cost, the lay-out device includes a small or convenient number of components easily coupled one to others to comprise a modular structure that can be adaptively attached to a great variety of vehicles and vehicle positions in a time-effective manner not requiring any modifications of the vehicles&#39; original design. Also, the modular structure of the lay-out device is easily adaptable for different tasks, can be mounted to the front or rear of a vehicle in accordance with a given task and/or individual preferences of the vehicle&#39;s operator and allows for quick and easy assembly for operation or breakdown for travel and storage.  
         [0013]     In general, the lay-out device is configured with a paint system unit, pneumatic delivery units, electronic control unit and mount unit. All but the mount unit are off-the-shelf products requiring minimal assembly and structural modifications for the intended use, thereby further minimizing cost and increasing speed of adaptation.  
         [0014]     The mount unit includes a suspension assembly, provided with a simple hitch or/and mount platform or a mid-chassis frame platform, that the operator easily can attach to a vehicle. The suspension frame further includes a guide and boom assemblies selected, e.g., from bar or rail members and removably coupled to the platform. Removably mounted to the boom assembly are telescoping tube units each carrying at least one paint gun. The tube unit is also mounted to angularly move relative to the boom unit between an operating position and a parking or travel position.  
         [0015]     During the pre-marking operation or process, the operator energizes an actuator operative to swing the mounted telescopic tube unit to the operative position, in which it extends in a generally horizontal plane. In the parking or travel position, the tube unit easily can be moved to extend in a generally vertical position, thus, allowing the operator either to cruise or to park the vehicle in a space-efficient manner.  
         [0016]     These and other features and aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]      FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic view of a stripe lay-out device configured in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a vehicle to which the device is mounted being depicted in phantom outline.  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is a fragmentary right side perspective view of a mount assembly configured with a boom and telescopic tube units, the tube units depicted being located at a vehicle front end and in a parking or travel disposition thereof.  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a view like  FIG. 2  except that the tube units are in an operating or painting disposition, the right side length being extended to full lateral expanse thereof.  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is a fragmentary perspective view on enlarged scale of a hinge unit coupling the boom and tube units of  FIGS. 1-3 .  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  is a fragmentary front side perspective view of a left end part of the telescopic tube unit on which lights and/or paint nozzles can be carried and illustrates how the left lateral expanse operating disposition of the boom can lengthened beyond that seen in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0022]      FIG. 6  is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating one embodiment of a hitch platform used to couple the mount assembly of  FIGS. 1-3  to a vehicle .  
         [0023]      FIGS. 7A, 7B  and  7 C illustrate user interface of mixing valve/pneumatic distribution system arrangements on the vehicle.  
         [0024]      FIG. 8  depicts a user interface of an electronic control unit.  
         [0025]      FIG. 9  is a flow chart of the operation of the lay-out device.  
         [0026]      FIG. 10  is a front elevation view of another embodiment of a mixing valve module/pneumatic distribution system component. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0027]     Reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments of the invention that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, same or similar reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts or steps. The drawings are in simplified form and are not to precise scale. For purposes of convenience and clarity only, directional terms, such as top, bottom, up, down, over, above, and below may be used with respect to the drawings. These and similar directional terms should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention in any manner. The words “connect,” “couple,” “front,” “rear”, “left,” “right” and similar terms with their inflectional morphemes do not necessarily denote direct and immediate connections, but also include connections through mediate elements or devices. Also, the terms “unit” and “assembly” may be used interchangeably.  
         [0028]     The lay-out device  10  for pre-marking a pavement surface is illustrated in  FIGS. 1, 2  and  3  and configured to operate on board a vehicle  12 , which may be a pick-up truck, a van or other vehicle type that may receive and store tanks  14 ,  16  and  18  filled, respectively, with a pressurized medium, flush fluid and paint. A plurality of hoses  20  ( FIG. 1 ) are provided for establishing flow communication between the tanks and at least one nozzle assembly  22 . The device may be mounted to either one of a vehicle front bumper  15  or back bumper. Any other part of vehicle structure suited to that purpose such as body section or frame ember may also be used for mounting.  
         [0029]     Coupling lay-out device  10  to vehicle  12  is effected with a mounting means unit  24  ( FIGS. 1, 2  and  3 ), which, as shown exclusively for the illustrative purposes attached to the front of the vehicle, includes a hitch assembly or unit  26  ( FIGS. 2 and 6 ) and a guide or boom assembly  28 . Hitch assembly  26 , as better shown in  FIG. 6 , is a simple U-shaped bracket-like structure having a clevis part arms  27  which are dimensioned to receive and gird boom assembly  28  and designed for coupling via bracket arm part  27  to the front of the vehicle in a variety of ways. For example, the operator may bolt bracket arm  27  to the vehicle and, thus, have the hitch assembly  26  removably mounted. Alternatively, the hitch assembly may be welded to the vehicle&#39;s frame. In sum, hitch assembly  26  may be bolt-able, fixable, or otherwise positioned to a vehicle in a wide variety of positions; and may itself be readily removed, or if fixed in position, allow ready removal of boom assembly  28 .  
         [0030]     Boom assembly  28  it will be noted includes at least one boom end section length  28   a  pivot connected to boom assembly remainder length  28   b  so that the one end section can pivot between an upright non-working and travel disposition and a horizontally disposed operating position. The boom assembly is mounted to the vehicle front end disposed transverse to a vehicle long axis and such that with one section  28   a  in operating position, it ca locate laterally of the vehicle right side.  
         [0031]     Placement of boom assembly  28  in the hitch unit is not arbitrary. The operator mounts the boom assembly so that apertures  30  ( FIG. 6 ) formed in the clevis arms  27  of the hitch assembly are aligned with respective apertures of the boom assembly). Typically, the boom assembly is centered on a longitudinal axis of the vehicle and is selected from variously shaped bars, which may include circular pipes, rectangular tubes, as shown in the drawings, or U-shaped rails. Once the apertures of the hitch and boom assemblies are aligned, the operator inserts a fastener  70  selected from pins, bolts and the like through the aligned apertures so as to prevent the coupled components from voluntary displacement relative to one another. Accordingly, mounting/dismounting of the boom assembly is a simple and time-effective operation, which does not require any special skills.  
         [0032]     Having completed the mounting step, the operator, depending on the intended location of road marks, mounts a telescoping tube unit  32  ( FIGS. 1-3  and  5 ) to either the right or left or both ends of the boom assembly. As better seen in  FIG. 5 , telescopic tube unit  32  may have a plurality of slidably cooperating components including an outer tube  34 , intermediate tube  36  and inner tuber  38 . This telescopic arrangement wherein two extension tubes  36 ,  38  are slidable in a third tube  34  allows that effective operating length of the boom assembly for working laterally extended beyond both side of the vehicle is possible. The telescopic arrangement at a right end of the boom assembly is housed in the one boom end section  28   a  and extends out from it tip end. At the left end of the boom assembly, the telescopic arrangement is housed in the remainder length section  28   b  and extends out its free end. A tip end of the inner tube  38  provides the mounting location for both spray nozzles and a warning and sight light, such light always being present proximal any nozzle location.  
         [0033]     Displacing each of the intermediate and inner tubes relative to one another and to outer tube  34 , the operator sets the desirable distance which can be fixed for further painting operations by simply fixing the tubes to one another. Again, the operator is not limited by any particular fastening means and can use, for example, pins or bolts preventing displacement of the tubes relative to one another.  
         [0034]     Traversing telescopic tube unit  32  are hose runs  20 - 1  as seen at  55  in  FIG. 2  for delivering paint and flush fluid from the paint tank to nozzle assemblies  22  as well as an electric cord or cable leading to a warning or sight light  40  and paint gun solenoid ( FIG. 1 ). The nozzle assembly  22  and lights  40  are mounted to opposite ends of a poles  42  ( FIGS. 1 and 5 ), which, in turn, are removably attached to inner tube  38  of the telescopic assembly, as shown in  FIG. 5 .  
         [0035]     Similarly to boom unit  28 , telescopic tube unit  32  is shown to have rectangular components. However, any other cross-section of tubes  34 ,  36  and  38 , as well as their number are simply an obvious modification of the disclosed components. For example, while the drawings illustrate nozzle assemblies  22  at both ends of the boom unit  28  ( FIG. 1 ), the operator may choose to have more or less nozzles suspended from the telescopic tube unit and spaced apart at various distances.  
         [0036]     One of possible situations dictating such a multi-nozzle arrangement may present itself when the task at hand requires painting a double-mark pattern, for example, marking the line to be painted and also marking an ‘offset’ mark for a ‘reflector’ at specific intervals during a single pass in the middle of the road.  
         [0037]     Each of outer tube  34 , inner tube  36 , and innermost tube  38  has a plurality of holes configured to allow the operator to fix the extended tubes relative to one another and to provide an outlet port or ports traversed by electrical cords and/or pneumatic lines. But once again, the scope of the invention is not limited to this particular arrangement and can be expanded to include, for example, guiding means for supporting electrical, fluid and pneumatic leads which lie outside the tube unit as well as additional sighting and tracking  66  means or video cameras for operator control.  
         [0038]     When the operator needs to travel but would like not to disassemble boom and tube units  28 ,  32 , respectively, he actuates a power operated tube unit actuator  46  ( FIG. 4 ) for swinging the tube unit, as mentioned above, from the operative position of  FIGS. 1 and 3  to the parking or travel position of  FIG. 2 . Displacement of the tube unit relative to the boom assembly may be implemented by a hydraulic, pneumatic and electric means in association with a variety of mechanical linkages.  
         [0039]     As illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the mechanical linkage includes a hinge bracket  44  provided on each of its opposite sides with a respective pair of arms  48  and  50 . Inner pair of arms  48  receives the end of boom unit  28  and pivots relative to this unit about a pin  52  ( FIG. 4 ) in response to a force generated by actuator  46 , which is also coupled to inner pair of arms  48 . Outer pair of arms  50  of hinge bracket  44  is fixed to the end of tube unit  32 . As can be seen in  FIG. 4 , a sleeve  54  can be removably mounted to the outer pair of arms and shaped to receive the inner end of tube unit  32 . Accordingly, the sleeve reinforces the tube unit against bending forces in the operative position and provides the desired rigidity between the connected components.  
         [0040]     Actuator  46  (as shown) is an electric linear actuator operative to reciprocally displace the inner end of bracket  44 , which, in turn, translates this linear motion into rotational motion of the tube unit  32 . Structurally, actuator  46  includes a piston and cylinder unit receiving signals from a processing unit, as will be discussed below. While an electric circuitry includes built-in end switches, two mechanical stops  56  are mounted on opposite sides of boom unit  28  and prevent a pin  53 , which couples the hinge bracket to the piston of the actuator, from contacting the boom unit and bending or damaging pin  53 .  
         [0041]     The procedure for operating the lay-out device is described below following. Various means for selectively effecting and controlling one of a flow and flush fluid with pressurized air could be employed as many such techniques are know to one having ordinary skill in the art. In the present case, components such as a console module  81  ( FIG. 1  and  7 B) or console module  77  ( FIG. 10 ) are used along with a controller  62  ( FIG. 8 ). Modules  77  and  81  can be used, e.g., for mounting of mixing valves and hoses connected to these valves. Controller  62  can having control setting elements with which an operator inputs or otherwise set operating parameters and initiates and terminate paint striping and system flushing.  
         [0042]     During an operation, upon mounting the boom and tube units to vehicle  12  ( FIG. 1 ), the operator initially verifies at a step  80  of  FIG. 9  that tank  14  contains air compressed under the desirable pressure and sufficient to drive a paint and flush solution along respective feed lines or hoses  20  towards gun units feeding the nozzles  22 . Further, the operator makes sure that each of flush and paint tanks  16  and  18 , respectively, contains a sufficient amount of material, as illustrated by a step  82  of  FIG. 9 . Each check may be made electronically by having a plurality of sensors strategically located so as to detect the desirable levels of the volume and pressure of the contained materials. As is known, each of the tanks is integrated in the system with conventional flow regulators  58 , and any necessary flow select, control and mixing valves  60  ( FIGS. 7A, 7B ,  7 C and  2 ) and feed lines/hoses  20  that all can be arranged on a single panel rack providing the operator with a convenient interface module, as shown in  FIGS. 7B .  7 C and  2 , and located at an easily accessible location, such as the vehicle&#39;s bumper and trunk.  
         [0043]     Another embodiment of controller console  77  is depicted in  FIG. 10 , the console being mounted at a vehicle front end, and having indicia  79  related to device operation on the console housing.  
         [0044]     After having verified that all fluid and electric connections are in order, the operator establishes the desired width of tube unit  32 . As has been previously discussed, the operator may extend intermediate and inner tubes  36  and  38 , respectively, relative to outer tube  34  manually. However, the scope of the invention contemplates utilizing a plurality of motion and position sensors operative to generate output signals in response to an input control signal from a controller  62  ( FIG. 8 ), which, in turn, of course, carries the information inputted by the operator. Replacing the manual operation of tube unit  32  with any electromechanical means enabling the tubes to slide relative to one another in response to the output signals of the sensors will allow the operator to use the lay-out device in a completely automatic manner.  
         [0045]     Then, as shown in a step  88  of  FIG. 9 , the operator can open all necessary valves from controller  62  ( FIG. 8 ). Since boom unit  28  can receive tube unit  32  at either of its opposite ends, the operator may control the lay-out device so that it paints center and a left side or center and a right side of a road.  
         [0046]     The feed lines, diagrammatically illustrated in  FIG. 1 , are in fact, neatly bundled and extend in the most convenient way without having loose ends and looped regions to the rear and front of the vehicle. To prevent the operator from accidentally actuating “wrong” valves, knobs  64  ( FIG. 8 ) may be color-coded, numbered, or letter designated so that the operator knows that, for example, red-colored knobs will actuate selected valves opening lines leading to one of the left and right sides of the vehicle, whereas differently-colored knobs operate the valves so that the material is delivered to the opposite side of the vehicle. Of course, the interface of pneumatic and electric control panels contains all necessary legends.  
         [0047]     While driving and operating the lay-out device, the operator has to select a reference point, as indicated in a step  90  of  FIG. 9 , unless, of course, the vehicle is equipped with a sophisticated navigation system. For this purposes, lay-out device  10  is provided with a plurality of sight pins  67  ( FIG. 1 ) strategically positioned on the device and/or vehicle and allowing the operator to follow point of reference such as, but not limited to, a curb line, paving joints or seams, marks placed on the pavements at acceptable intervals or existing traffic lines. Once the alignment is achieved, the operator will make the appropriate selection from controller  62  ( FIG. 8 ) to ready operate and selected paint guns with the selected pre-programmed pattern stored in the controller, as indicated by a step  92 . The operator may want to check out whether the paint delivery is acceptable, as shown in a step  94  of  FIG. 9 .  
         [0048]     With the device ready to layout stripes, from either a stationary or mobile condition, the operator will move a control switch  66  ( FIG. 8 ) located on the interface of the controller and energizing the solenoid at paint gun(s) units which feed nozzles  22  ready to apply the paint material to the pavement.  
         [0049]     Upon completing the task, the operator closes the valve pressurizing paint tank  18  ( FIG. 1 ) and further closes the appropriate valves sending paint to the paint gun(s). Then, the operator may open valves operative to deliver flush solution from tank  16  to the gun units. The lay-out device may be provided with a suitable container for accumulating the fluid produced by flushing the gun units.  
         [0050]     Once the fluid lines, gun units and nozzles are cleaned appropriately, the operator depressurizes flush tank  16  and all feed lines/hoses  20 . Finally, the operator may decide whether to dismount the boom and tube units or displace the tube unit to the parking or travel position.  
         [0051]     In the claims, means- or step-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described or suggested herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures. Thus, for example, although a nail, a screw, and a bolt may not be structural equivalents in that a nail relies on friction between a wooden part and a cylindrical surface, a screw&#39;s helical surface positively engages the wooden part, and a bolt&#39;s head and nut compress opposite sides of a wooden part, in the environment of fastening wooden parts, a nail, a screw, and a bolt may be readily understood by those skilled in the art as equivalent structures.  
         [0052]     Although only a single or few exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiment(s) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the spirit and scope of this invention as disclosed in the foregoing description.