US2351719A - Line marker - Google Patents

Description

June 20,1944. R. STAHL 2,351;719

LINE MARKER Filed Feb. 12, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I] M M I i0 3 l! 4.

IN VENTOR A TTORNEK'i June 2 0, 1944. i

R. STAHL LINE MARKER Filed Feb. 12, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 11V VEN TOR Z R 3% r Patented June 20, 1944 LINE MARKER Rodolphe Stahl, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Saylor-Beall Manufacturing 00., Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Application February 12, 1940, Serial No. 318,495

7 Claims.

lhe present invention relates to painting machinery, and in particular is directed to the provision of an improved machine for painting stripes or lines, such as traffic lines on highways, in factories, parking lots, air ports, rail terminals, and the like.

The principal objects of the present invention are to provide a machine of the above generally indicated character which is extremely light in weight, inexpensive to build and to use, and which road surface, the concave surfaces of the shield machine even under windy conditions; to provide such a machine wherein the paint shields and spray gun are so positioned relative to the container as to be within the vision of an operator of the machine, so as to facilitate the following of guide lines; and to in general improve the construction and arrangement of machines of the above generally indicated character.

With the above as well as other objects in view which appear in the following description Moreover, its

is simple and reliable in operation; to provide and in the appended claims, apreferred but illussuch a machine wherein a single container or trative embodiment of the invention is shown in tank affords storage both for the material or the accomp y drawings, throughout e Sevpaint and for the compressed fluid, such as air, eral views of which corresponding reference charfor forcing the material from the container to actors are used to designate Corresponding p the nozzle and for operating a pressure operated a i Which: spray nozzle; to provide such a machine wherein Figure 1 i a View n p p of a preferred the just mentioned single container constitutes embodiment o t e in o the chassis of the machine; to provide such a Fig. 2 is a detailed View, taken along t e i e machine wherein the just mentioned container of also provides a mounting for an engine driven Fig. 3 is a detailed View, taken along the line compressor unit, the compressed air output 3- of whereof is delivered directly to the tank and to 4 is a View in d elevation of the structure spray gun associated with the machine; to proshown in Fig. 1; and vide such a machine in which the spray gun is- 5 is a w in Section, ta en along the line adjustably supported directly by the above menof V tioned container, in such relation that it may be t wi be app t d m a p te und radjusted both vertically and transversely relative Standing of the present invention, that the thereto; to provide such a machine embodying proved machine of the invent on ay be ut ed paint shields positioned at the respectively oppofor an exceedingly Wide Variety of p p es. site sides of the spray gun, and which serve to der ti uses for e machine f th pr nt fine the edges of the paint line produced by the invention are for the marking of center lines or spray gun; to provide such a machine wherein the other traiiio lines on w y Safety Zones, cross paint shields are adjustably carried by the above- Walks, par i l s, traffic lines in p Tail mentioned container in such relation that they terminals, d Warehouses, factories, garages, may be elevated to an inactive position, and lowp y r n n the l Th pr en m chine ered to an active position in which they engage is part cula y ui d for e above pp t o the road surface; to provide such a machine in view of the fact that its simplicity of construcwherein the paint shields are independently movtion enables it to be manufactured and sold at a able relative to the container so as to enable o relatively low price. nd i c p c ty is u h as to the shields to individually follow irregularities enable the painting of substantial areas without in the road surface, thus enabling the painting of the necessity of refill operations. exceedingly even lines even on rough surfaces; to small size and igh We enable it to be readily provide such a machine in which the paint shields operated by a Single operator, and the o t ucare curved in a plane generally parallel to thetion and arrange e t of the pa n e a d paint shield enable the painting of extremely being presented toward each other, whereby the accurate d p y d ed tra c lines. width of the line is determined by the maximum R in to h w n the p ma hine spacing between the shield surfaces, and any consists essentially of a tank or container Ill drippage from the shields upon the road surface is held within the boundaries of the line being painted; to provide such a machine embodying a removable wind guard structure which may be positioned over the spray nozzle and paint shields,

so as to enable satisfactory operation of the which serves, as described below, both as a storage chamber for th paint or other material to be sprayed and for the compressed fluid, such as air, which is utilized for delivering the paint from the tank and for operating the spray gun. The container l0 serves as a mounting for an engine driven compressor unit illustrated as comprising a small gasoline engine 12 and a reciprocating type compressor it, and also affords a mounting for the hereinafter described paint shield assembly l6 and the spray gun [8.

The container or tank IE) may, of course, be of any form or shape desired, but the illustrated cylindrical shape is preferred since it afiords maximum storage capacity per unit weight of the tank, and since it also affords maximum rigidity or strength. An important feature of the present construction resides in utilizing the container in as the chassis of the machine, thus dispensing with the otherwise existing necessity of providing a frame structure and correspondingly reducing the overall weight of the machine.

Since the tank i9 is utilized as the chassis, the mountings for the rear wheels and the front wheels 22 are secured directly to the container H], in the relation shown in greater detail in Figs. 2 and 3.

Referring to Fig. 2, each rear wheel 2%; is mounted in a yoke 2 which is provided with a swivel connection to a tubular member 25, which is rigidly secured to, and extends outwardly from, the side wall of the container It. A pin 28 is preferably carried by the support in such relation that it can be moved into locking engagement with a bracket 30 carried by the yoke 2-1, so as to lock the associated Wheel in straight ahead position. This is for the reason that except in instances Where relatively sharp curves are being painted, it is preferred to secure all Wheels of the machine in the straight ahead position.

The front wheels 22 are preferably mounted upon a common axle 32, the respectively opposite end portions of which are secured to a bracket 34, by means of studs such'as 36. The bracket 34 is rigidly secured, as by welding, to the underside of the container ii A spring 38 is interposed between each end of the axle and the associated bracket 34, so as to enable the front wheels 22 to individually follow irregularities in the road surface.

The provision of the individually sprung front wheel enables the machine to follow irregularities in the road surface, without producing a 'waviness in the line being painted,'in much the manner of a three-wheel unit. However, the four-wheel arrangement gives greater stability than a corresponding three-wheel arrangement. If desired, of course, springs may be interposed in the rear wheels and the mountings therefor, but it is preferred to omit such springs so as to further improve the stability of the machine and overcome any tendency to produce a Wavy line.

The driving engine E2 and compressor M, both whereof may be of conventional construction, are mounted upon a supporting bed plate 40, which, in turn, is directly secured to the top surface of the container ill. The bed plate 40 also serves as a mounting for a fuel tank 42 associated with the engine it, and for a small container M, which may be utilized to store paint thinner or other fluid utilized in cleaning the paint lines and the spray gun H3. The delivery line 66 of the compressor 14 is connected into a header 48, having a pressure gauge 5E! associated therewith, and which header also is provided with a direct connection 52 leading into the container l2 and with an additional connection as leading to the spray gun l8. Preferably, also, a relief valve 55 is interposed in'the header @8. It

will be understood that the line 52 opens into the tank if! at a point above the level of the paint therein. With the foregoing arrangement, the air pressure within the tank acts to deliver the paint therefrom through the hereinafter identified line, and also acts to supply air through the line 54 to the gun I8.

In the broader aspects of the invention, various different spray gun constructions may be used, but it is preferred that the gun 18 be constructed as disclosed and claimed in applicants copending application Serial No. 119,563, filed January 8, 1937, and assigned to the same assignee as the present application. For the purposes of the present description, the characteristic feature of such guns is that they are provided with a material nozzle, from which material may be discharged under the pressure existing within the container, and that such guns be provided with one or more air nozzles which are preferably arranged so as to envelop the material stream and to also flatten the material stream in a plane at right angles to the line of movement of the machine. In the present instance, the gun i8 is indicated as having a centrally disposed nozzle 56, from which the paint is discharged, and as having laterally disposed air nozzles 51, from which air may be discharged onto the front and rear surfaces of the paint stream so as to flatten the paint stream in the above mentioned transverse plane. The paint is delivered from the container ill to the gun l8 through the line 58, the inlet whereof, of course, extends into the tank to a point below the level of the paint therein.

Depending upon the characteristics of the paint employed, and the requirements of the line to be painted, the gun structure may be adjusted to correspondingly vary the degree to which the material stream is atomized by the aforementioned air streams. In practice, it is usually found desirable to so adjust the gun that the air streams serve only to flatten the material stream, and do not have any substantial atomizing eifect.

The gun I8 is also provided with a trigger 60 which, upon being drawn upwardly, serves to open the usual material and air valves positioned within the body of the gun. The trigger 60 is arranged for control from the handle 62 of the machine, by means of a Bowden wire or equivalent connection 64, which leads to a trigger 66 carried by the handle 62.

The gun is is mounted for adjustment both vertically and horizontally relative to the machine upon the supporting rods 10 and T2, The rod H1 is directly secured to the side wall of container H1, and is provided with a bracket 14, which can be locked in any position of vertical adjustment on the rod 10. The bracket 14 also supports the rod 12, which is slidable through the bracket 14 in such relation as to enable the transverse spacing between the gun l8 and the container I0 to be increased or decreased. The gun I8, in turn, is directly secured to the rod 12.

As previously mentioned, the design of the spray gun I8 is preferably such that the material is discharged therefrom in the form of a laterally diverging fan-like stream. In order to clearly limit the width of the line produced by this fan-like spray, a feature of the present invention resides in the provision of the arcuately formed paint shields and 82, which paint shields are carried at the forward ends of the arms and 88, respectively, which arms are independently and swingably mounted upon the supporting rod 88, which extends laterally outwardly from the side of the container I0. In order to increase and decrease the transverse spacing between the shields 80 and 82, and so as to also adjust the lateral spacing between the shields and the container ID, the rod 88 is provided with a plurality of spacing elements 90, the number of which may be increased or decreased as desired, as will be appreciated. When the machine is in operation, the paint shields 80 and 82 ride directly upon the surface being operated upon and the swingable mounting of the arms 84 and 86 enable these shields to independently follow irregularities in the road surface, thus .providing for the painting of exceedingly clearly and uniformly well defined paint lines. During inactive periods, it is preferred to elevate the shields 80 and 82 out of engagement with the roadway and for this purpose, a handle operated liftin element 92 is preferably secured to the side of the container in such relation that upon lowering the handle, the cam part 94 thereof engages and depresses the rear ends of the arms 84 and 86, and consequently elevating the paint shields.

As most clearly appears in Figure l, the paint shields 80 and 82 are arcuately formed in a plane generally parallel to the surface being painted, and are positioned with the concave surfaces thereof facing each other. The lower surfaces of the shields are also arcuate, as viewed in Fig. 4, so that the front and rear end portions of each shield are slightly elevated above the road surface. The maximum width of the line to be painted is, of course, governed by the maximum spacing between the shields, which maximum spacing occurs in the region of the reference characters a and b (Fig. 1).

In practice, in order to insure an entirely uniform width of the line, as determined by the spacing of the paint shields, it is preferred to so adjust the height of the gun that the fan-like spray engages the side walls of the shields, immediately adjacent the central areas a and b thereof (Fig. l) at a point slightly above the lower edges of the paint shields. Some paint thus collects upon the inner surfaces of the paint shields, particularly in the region of the areas a and b, and the thus collected paint flows from the shield surfaces onto the road surface. Due to the arcuate form of the shields, all of the paint which collects on the shields forwardly and rearwardly of the areas a and b drips onto the paint line at points spaced inwardly from the side edges thereof. The shields thus act to collect any paint which is not directly discharged upon the road surface by the gun, and to thereafter dispose such collected paint on the road surface, without, however, producing a ragged edge on the paint line.

A further feature of the present construction resides in the provision of the wind guard I00, which is adapted to be removably secured to the mounting means for the paint shields in such relation as to enclose and shield the spray gun I8. With this arrangement, the paint machine may be utilized under windy conditions, without in any way interfering with the efficient operation thereof,

In the operation of the machine, it will be understood that the container Ill may be filled to a relatively high level with the paint to be sprayed, leaving a portion of the volume thereof available as an air storage space. During the operation of the engine 12, the compressor serves to maintain the air pressure within the tank ID at a value fixed by the adjustment of the relief valve 55. In setting up the machine for operation, it Will be'appreciated that the paint shields are laterally adjusted so as to have a desired transverse spacing from themachine, as determined by the requirements of the-surface on which the line is to be painted, and are spaced apart from each other in accordance with the desired width of the line to be painted. A corresponding adjustment is made of the spray gun.

After the above initial adjustments, the painting action may be started simply by releasing the trigger 66, which opens the material and air valves associated with the gun, initiating the painting action. It will be appreciated, of course, that the machine may be advanced relatively rapidly or relatively slowly, depending upon whether it is desired to produce a relatively thin or a relatively thick film of paint upon the road surface. In operation, the positioning of the gun at one side of the vehicle enables the operator to keep the gun in full view at all times, thus rendering it considerably easier to follow guide lines, or the like.

Although only a single specific embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, it will be appreciated that various modifications in the form, number, and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention,

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for painting or the like, the combination of a material nozzle, means supporting said nozzle at a predetermined spaced relation to a surface upon which the material is to be deposited, and a pair of material guides positioned at respectively opposite sides of said nozzle and projecting nearly enough to said surface to enable said guides to govern the width of the area upon which said material is deposited, each of said material guides being of arcuate form in a plane generally parallel to the plane of said surface and having the concave surfaces thereof presented towards each other.

2. In a machine for depositing a line of material upon a surface, the combination of a nozzle carried by said machine at a predetermined elevation above said surface, and means comprising at least one material guide carried by said machine and having a portion disposed at one side of said nozzle and projecting nearly enough to the surface to enable said guide to govern the width of the line of material, said material guide being of arcuate form in a plane generally parallel to the plane of the surface and having its concave side presented to said material nozzle.

3. In a machine for depositing a line of material upon a, surface, the combination of a, material nozzle carried by said machine in predetermined spaced relation to the surface, a pair of material guides carried by the machine and positioned at respectively opposite sides of the nozzle, said guides each having a portion disposed to project nearly enough to the surface to enable said guides to govern the width of the line of ma terial, said portions being of concave form in a plane generally parallel to the plane of the surface With the concave portions thereof presented towards each other, and means associated with said material guides for holding them in elevated relation above the surface.

4. In a machine for depositing a line of material upon a surface, the combination of a mate rial nozzle carried by said machine in predetermined spaced relation to the surface, a pair of material guides carried by the machine and posi- "'tioned at respectivelyopposite sides-of the nozzle, *said guides each "having "a portion disposed to project nearly enough to the surface to enable -said guides to govern the width of the line of material, said portions beingof concave form in a plane generallyparallel to the plane of the surface with theconcave portions-thereof presented "towards-each other, anda shield structure -re- -movably carried by said material guidesand extendin'gacross the space therebetween so as to shield the stream of material discharged from "the nozzle.

"5.-In -a machine for painting or the like, the combination of a material nozzle, means supporting said nozzle in operative relation to a surface upon which the material is to be deposited, a

formed toward the nozzle andover said area so that "material impinging thereon and draining therefrom is deposited on said area.

'6. In a machine for painting or the like, the combination of a material nozzle, means supporting said-nozzle in operativerelation to a sur-' face upon which-thematerialis to be deposited, a material -shieldaitat-least one side of the'nozzle and-extending forwardly and rearwardly-from the path of the material, said shield having its intermediate portion Qisposed in approximate registry'with the corresponding side of the area which is to receive the material and having its forward and rearward'portions deformed toward the nozzle so that material impinging thereon and draining therefrom is deposited on'said area.

7. 'In a machine 'for painting or the like, the combination of a material nozzle, means supporting saidnoz'zle inoperative relation to asurface upon which the material is to be deposited, a pair of material shields positioned at respectively oppositesidesofthe nozzle and each extending forwardly and rearwardly from the path of the material, each said shield having partsthereof disposed in approximate registry with a corresponding side of the area which'is to receive the material and having other parts thereof deformed towards the nozzle and over said areaso that material impinging thereon and draining therefrom is deposited on said area.

RODOLPHE STAHL.

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