US2311038A - Striping apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 16, 1943. c. c. EFIRD ETAL STRIPING APPARATUS Filed May 21, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 C an WILL/Ah? L,. Mans/4m.

attorneys Patented Feb. 16, 1943 OFFICE STRJIING APPARATUS Crayon C. Efird and William L. Marshall, Aibemarle, N. C.

Application May 21, 1941, Serial No. 394,442

3 illaiins.

This invention relates to improvements in painting machines and more especially to a wheeled unit employed for striping roads and pavements, thereby dividing the same into marked areas.

Heretofore, it has been difficult to obtain the proper distribution of marking material on the striped surfaces on account of the tendency of the material to dry in the container orifices. This difiiculty is especially noticeable when certain types of paint are used. As a result, it has often been necessary to force the marking fluid from the dispensing container under pressure, so that the proper flow could be obtained. There has also been difiiculty in obtaining the desired paint distribution on account of the improper arrangement of the orifices.

It is an object of this invention to provide a striping machine especially designed to overcome the above-named obstacles. Specifically the machine comprises a wheeled paint container having a plurality of circularly arranged orifices in its bottom, in combination with a plurality of springpressed pointed plungers normally closing said orifices, and means for simultaneously lifting all of the plungers when it is desired to allow the marking material to flow therefrom. A brush is attached to the machine for spreading the dispensed material on the surfaces to be marked. By employing the circular arrangement of the openings, a greater amount of marking material will be dispensed near the edges of the stripe than in the center, thus causing the border portions to be more heavily marked. The simultaneously operable spring pressed plungers completely penetrate the orifices in the bottom of the container and thus force all of the Wet marking material therefrom when the device is not in use.

It is another object of this invention to provide a striping machine of the class described having means for adjusting the amount that the plungers may be raised in the respective openings, thereby controlling the flow of marking material.

It is another object of this invention to pro- Vide a striping machine that is simple in construction, low in cost, and efficient in operation.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved striping apparatus for pavements and the like;

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1;

igure 3 is a sectional detail view through a portion of the apparatus and taken along the line 3-3 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view 5 through the container, said view being taken along the line 4-4 in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional plan View taken along the lines 5-5 in Figures 1 and 4;

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail view of the lower right hand portion of Figure 4, showing one of the orifices through which the marking material flows, in an opened position.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral HI broadly designates a container for holding a suitable coating material H, such as paint or the like. The specific container disclosed comprises four walls i2, a bottom l4, and a cover It, said cover being secured to the upper portion of the container by any suitable means such as hinges I6. Two opposed walls i2 of the container have secured thereto wheels ll. These wheels are so attached to the container that the bottom portion M will be held in parallel spaced relation to a pavement or other surface upon which the wheels rest.

The above-mentioned opposed walls l2 also have attached thereto suitable strap iron members 29 by any suitable means such as bolts or screws 2i. The upper ends of these strap iron members converge and have secured therebetween, by any suitable means such as nails or screws 22, the lower end of a handle 23, said handle extending upwardly and having the intermediate portion of a cross handle 24 secured to the upper end thereof. The operator usually grasps each end of the cross handle 24 with his hands when rolling the container it from place to place during a marking or striping operation.

Attention is called to the specific construction of the bottom M. It is here seen that a plurality of frusto-conical orifices 25 are provided, and that these orifices are arranged substantially in a circle. A plurality of conical plungers 26 are adapted to normally close the orifices 25 when the apparatus is not in operation, the upper end of each of said plungers being secured to a suitable plate'2'l which is attached to the lower end of a shaft 28. Shaft 28 has its upper end slidably mounted in a bearing 29, depending from cover l5. It will be noted by referring to Figure 4 that the bearing 29 has a vertically disposed slot 30 therein, which slot is penetrated by a pin 3|, and this pin has its inner end secured to the shaft 28. The purpose of the pin 3| is to prevent rotative movement of the shaft 28, and the purpose of the slot 35 is to permit a limited amount of vertical movement of the shaft 28 and the associated plungers 26 when it is desired to dispense marking fluid from the container.

The upper end of the shaft 28 has a notch 35 cut therein said notch being adapted to receive the end of the horizontal leg of a bell crank 36. Th bell crank 36 is pivoted intermediate its ends as at 31 in a bracket 38, said bracket, in turn, being secured to the upper exterior portion of the cover I5.

In order to rotate the bell crank 36 about its pivot 31 to cause vertical movement of the shaft 28 and plungers 26, one end of a suitable flexible member such as a wire or cord 40, is attached to the vertical leg of bell crank 36, as at 4!. This cord extends upwardly through a bore 42 in the handle 23.

By referring to Figure 3 it will be seen how the upper end of the member 46 is attached to the plunger operating mechanism. The upper end of the member 40 (Figure 3) is adapted to pass around the periphery of a grooved pulley 45, said pulley being rotatably mounted as at 66, in the upper end of the handle 23. The upper portion of the handle 23 and also a portion of the cross handle 24 are slotted as at 41 and 48, respectively, so as to accommodate the pulley 45 and other associated mechanism. The upper end of the member 45 after passing over the pulley 45 is secured as at 49 to one end of a lever 50, and this lever, in turn, is pivotally mounted in the slot 48 as at It is evident that when the operator presses the free end of lever 56 into the slot v43, the wire member 40 will be pulled upwardly through the bore 42, and thereby rotate the bell crank 36 a slight amount about its pivot 31. This rotation of the bell crank will cause the shaft 28 and the associated plungers 26 to be raised upwardly in the orifice 25 in the bottom of the container to allow the marking fluid II to flow therefrom.

In order to regulate the distance to which the plungers 26 may be raised in the orifices 25, a suitable set screw 55 is provided, the lower end of said set screw being disposed directly above the upper end of shaft 28. This set screw is threadably mounted in a Z-shaped bracket 56, said bracket being secured to the cover l5. By manipulating the set screw 55, the amount that the shaft 28 may be raised is regulated.

In order to cause the plungers 26 to be yieldingly held in the orifices 25 when the apparatus is not in use, a suitable compression spring 51 is provided around the intermediate portion of the ,1,

shaft 28 (Figure 4). The upper endof the compression spring 57 normally abuts the lower end of bearing 29, whereas the lower end of the compression spring is confined around theshaft28 by means of a washer 59and apin 60.

When the parts are in normal position the lower .pointed ends of the conical plungers 26 completely penetrate the orifices 25 under the pressure of spring 51, and thereby force all excess marking fluid therefrom. As heretoforestated, certain marking materials dry rapidly and therefore, it is necessary that this material be removed from the orifices to prevent closure when not in use. Also the lower ends of orifices 25 project downwardly a substantial .distancebelow the bottom, so the marking material will flow therefrom in separated streams, If the orifices did not project down below thebottom, the surface tension of the fluid would oftencause the marking material to spread laterally along the bottom surface of the container and cause adjacent streams to merge. This would cause an improper distribution of the marking fluid.

As the container is rolled along the surface which is to be marked, the operator presses the lever 55 to thereby cause the orifices 25 to be opened a predetermined amount, dependent upon the adjustment of the set screw 55. At this time, a stream of marking fluid will flow through each orifice 25 onto this surface. On account of the circular arrangement of the orifices 25 it is evident that a greater amount of marking material will be dispensed near the edges of the stripes than in the center. This is very desirable because the outer edges of the stripe should be marked more distinctly.

After the marking material has been permitted to flow upon the surface to be marked, it is then desirable to spread this material by any suitable means such as a brush 65. The brush 65 is equipped with suitable bristles 65, the lower ends of which normally contact the surface upon which the marking fluid has been allowed to fall from the orifices 25. In order to mount this brush 65 for vertical adjustment on the container ill, a suitable plate 67 has been secured to the rear Wall I2 by any suitable means such as screws 68. In the plate 61, a vertically disposed slot 69 is provided, and also a companion slot 10 is provided in the rear outer face of the back wall l2. One face of the brush 65 is clamped against the outer face of the plate 67 by any suitable means such as a bolt H, said .bolt having its squared head portion Ha normally disposed in the slot 16 and its squared collar portion lib is disposed in the slot 66. Since the portions Ha and Nb are square and since the width of the slots 69 and It! are less than the longest cross dimensions of the squared portions, the bolt is prevented from turning when the nut 14 is tightened to secure the brush 65 in position. When it is desired to adjust the elevation of the lower ends of the bristles 56, it is only necessary to loosen the nut M and move the bolt H and the associated brush 65 vertically to the desired position,

The lid or cover l5 has a suitable opening 16 which is normally closed by a screw type cover 17. The purpose of this opening is to permit marking fluid to be poured into the container from time to time as it is used therefrom.

Often it is necessary to gain access to the interior of the container. In such cases, it is only necessary to remove the pin 31 which holds the bell crank 36 in position. Then the free end of the cover l5 may be raised a short distance so as to gain access to the interior of the container. If it is desired to open the container cover the entire amount, it will be further necessary to remove the screw 32 so that the shaft 26 and associated plungers 26 may be disassociated from the lid. The free end of the lid or cover I5 is normally held in closed position by any suitable means such as a spring latch 19, said latch having a'hole 86 therein which is adapted to fit over a prejection 8| extending from the upper outer edge of the front wall l2 of the container.

In the drawings and specification, there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for painting stripes on pavements comprising a wheeled frame, an upwardly and rearwardly extending handle for guiding and propelling the frame, a container disposed in said frame, the bottom of the container having a plurality of circularly arranged orifices therein, a plate within the container and having a plurality of tapered pins therein for fitting into said orifices to close the same, means for normally holding the pins in said orifices, means on the handle and connected to the plate for raising the plate, adjustable means for limiting upward movement of the plate to regulate the flow of paint through the orifices, and a brush on the rear of the frame for spreading the paint deposited through the orifices.

2. Apparatus for painting stripes on pavements comprising a wheeled frame, an upwardly and rearwardly extending handle for guiding and propelling the frame, a container disposed in said frame, the bottom of the container having a plurality of orifices therein, a plate within the container and having a plurality of tapered pins therein for fitting into said orifices to close the same, means for normally holding the pins in said orifices, means on the handle and connected to the plate for raising the plate, adjustable means for limiting upward movement of the plate to regulate the flow of paint through the orifices, and a brush on the rear of the frame for spreading the paint deposited through the orifices.

3. Apparatus for painting stripes on pavements comprising a wheeled frame, a paint container on the frame and having a plurality of openings in the bottom thereof, a plate having a plurality of tapered plungers fitting into said orifices, a shaft secured to said plate, a bearing for the shaft, a spring disposed around the shaft for normally forcing the plate downwardly to close the orifices, means for moving the plate upwardly, adjustable means for limiting the upward movement of the plate, and a brush on the rear of the frame for spreading the paint on the pavement as the frame moves forwardly.

CRAYON C. EFIRD. WILLIAM L. MARSHALL.

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