Pavement marking system with pavement marker dispenser having curvilinear feed tube for improved marker spacing

A pavement marker dispenser for dispensing retroreflective markers for a roadway, the dispenser comprising:

• an elongated feed tube that has a sufficient length and diameter to house a generally vertical curvilinear stack of pavement markers, the feed tube having top and bottom openings of a sufficient size and shape to respectively receive and dispense the markers in a downwardly vertical direction, the feed tube having a nonlinear curvature along its length to produce the curvilinear stack of markers, the feed tube having first and second curved portions so that the nonlinear curvature is generally serpentine in shape;
• a disc actuator, the disc actuator having a pushing arm that extends horizontally perpendicular to the feed tube to push the bottommost marker in a generally horizontal direction into a delivery chute and that unextends to advance the stack of markers downwardly in the vertical direction so that a next marker that was situated adjacent to the bottommost marker is in a position to be dispensed next;
• and
• a delivery chute that receives the markers from the dispenser and dispenses the markers in a generally vertical direction.

An improvement for a pavement marking system for applying retroreflective markers to a surface of a roadway, the pavement marking system comprising:

• (a) a liquid applicator having a spray head, the liquid applicator capable of applying thermoplastic paint to the roadway surface through the spray head;
• (b) a pavement marker dispenser, the dispenser having:
• (1) an elongated feed tube that houses a generally vertical stack of pavement markers, the feed tube having top and bottom openings that respectively receive and dispense the markers in a downwardly vertical direction;
• (2) a disc actuator, the disc actuator having a pushing arm that extends perpendicular to the feed tube to push the bottommost marker in a downward and rearward direction and that unextends to advance the stack of markers downwardly in the vertical direction so that a next marker that was situated adjacent to the bottommost marker is in a position to be dispensed next;
• and
• (3) a delivery chute that receives the markers from the pushing arm and deposits the markers onto the thermoplastic paint in a molten state on the roadway surface;
• and
• (c) a motor vehicle that transports the pavement marker dispenser and the liquid applicator along the roadway;
• wherein the improvement comprises a new pavement marker dispenser having an elongated curvilinear feed tube that houses a generally vertical curvilinear stack of pavement markers, the feed tube having a nonlinear curvature with two bends along its vertical length to produce the curvilinear stack of markers so that a downwardly vertical stacking force imposed on a bottommost marker to be dispensed is reduced.