Apparatus and method for marking a surface

A method of applying a predetermined pattern to a surface on which a transport vehicle will travel, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing a surface marking mechanism with an attachment device for connection to a transport vehicle;
• applying a set of machine control instructions to said surface marking mechanism, said set of machine control instructions including a sequence of x-axis control signals, y-axis control signals, z-axis control signals, tilt control signals, and w-axis control signals for positioning a material dispenser supported by said surface marking mechanism;
• positioning said material dispenser at a sequence of x-axis positions in response to said x-axis control signals;
• placing said material dispenser at a sequence of y-axis positions in response to said y-axis control signals;
• elevating said material dispenser at a sequence of z-axis positions in response to said z-axis control signals;
• revolving said material dispenser at a sequence of w-axis positions in response to said w-axis control signals;
• tilting, in response to said tilt control signals, at least a portion of said material dispenser at a sequence of tilt positions so that said material dispenser forms an angle with said w-axis, said tilting step including the step of tilting said material dispenser to dispense said material with a predetermined distribution between an extended perimeter region of said surface and a contracted perimeter region of said surface, said tilting step further including the step of tilting said dispensing head to form a surface proximate dispensing head position and a surface distal dispensing head position, said surface proximate dispensing head position resulting in a first amount of material being applied to said extended perimeter region and said surface distal dispensing head position resulting in a second amount of material, less than said first amount of material, being applied to said contracted perimeter region;
• and
• dispensing a material at said sequence of x-axis position, y-axis positions, z-axis positions, tilt positions, and w-axis positions from a dispensing head on said material dispenser, so as to form said predetermined pattern on said surface.

A method of applying a predetermined pattern to a surface, said method comprising the steps of:

• generating a set of machine control instructions for a surface marking apparatus supporting a flowable material dispenser, said generating step including the steps of:
• defining a mathematical model characterizing the spatial relationship between said material dispenser, said surface, and said predetermined pattern, and
• deriving said machine control instructions from said mathematical model, said machine control instructions including x-axis control signals, y-axis control signals, z-axis control signals, tilt control signals, and w-axis control signals;
• and
• dispensing a flowable material from said flowable material dispenser in response to said x-axis control signals, said y-axis control signals, said z-axis control signals, and said w-axis control signals to form said predetermined pattern,
• wherein said defining step includes the step of defining a bisecting path for said predetermined pattern, said x-axis control signals and said y-axis control signals being derived from coordinates corresponding to said bisecting path.

In an apparatus for marking a surface, the combination comprising:

• a surface marking mechanism supporting a material dispenser, said surface marking mechanism including
• means for securing said surface marking mechanism to a transport vehicle,
• means for manipulating said material dispenser relative to a plane substantially parallel to said surface,
• means for moving said material dispenser along a z-axis generally orthogonal to said surface, and
• means for rotating said material dispenser around a w-axis substantially normal to said surface;
• and
• a controller which generates control signals, which are conveyed to said surface marking mechanism, to cause said surface marking mechanism to generate a predetermined pattern on said surface, said predetermined pattern being selected from a pattern library stored in a memory device of said controller, which pattern library includes a plurality of patterns, each of which has a corresponding set of execution instructions that result in said control signals.