Road Marking Spray Gun Height Control via Video Feedback
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing road marking machines face challenges in maintaining a constant line width due to varying spray pressure, temperature, and marking material viscosity, leading to deviations in the spray angle and line width, which are difficult to control and require extensive adjustment and testing.
Innovation Solution
A method that uses video recording and image evaluation to continuously monitor the spray fan and adjust the spray gun height automatically, allowing for quick reaction to deviations in line width, eliminating the need for complex parameter recording and processing, and utilizing an electric or hydraulic adjustment drive for precise height control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If spray pressure is increased to maintain marking speed, then productivity is improved, but line width deviation increases due to spray angle changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors the actual line width using a video camera and image evaluation program, compares it with the target line width, and automatically adjusts the spray gun height via control signals to compensate for deviations caused by spray pressure changes during high-speed marking operations
Solution Approach 2:
The spray gun height is made dynamically adjustable during operation through an electric or hydraulic adjustment drive, allowing real-time compensation for spray angle changes that occur when spray pressure varies with marking speed and material temperature
2Manufacturing precision
If spray gun height is adjusted to compensate for spray angle changes, then line width consistency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces complex mechanical linkage systems (such as hydraulic lever systems with variable gear ratios) with an electric or hydraulic adjustment drive controlled by electronic control signals derived from video image analysis, simplifying the control architecture while maintaining precision
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of directly measuring physical parameters like spray angle or pressure, the system creates an optical copy of the spray pattern via video recording and uses image evaluation algorithms to determine line width, avoiding the need for complex physical sensors
3Measurement precision
If video recording and image evaluation are used to monitor spray pattern, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a video camera to create an optical record of the spray pattern and marking line, then employs image evaluation programs to automatically extract line width measurements from the video images, providing precise continuous monitoring without mechanical contact
Solution Approach 2:
The image evaluation program automatically processes the video images to calculate actual line width values and generates control signals for height adjustment without requiring manual intervention or additional complex processing systems
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method ensures precise and constant line width maintenance, reducing the need for extensive adjustments and improving accuracy, even with changing parameters like marking speed, material temperature, and spray pressure, while providing a fallback for continued operation if video recording or image evaluation fails.
Implementation Method 1
the spray fan formed by the marking material exiting the spray nozzle with a spray angle is recorded as a video
Implementation Method 2
an image evaluation program continuously calculates the actual spray angle and the line width of the generated marking line from the video recordings
Implementation Method 3
the marking material is not propelled onto the road surface using atomizing air but is instead forced at high pressure through a specially shaped nozzle
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for maintaining the line width (B) of a marking line (3) applied to a road surface (4) by a road marking machine using a spray gun (1) from a flowable marking material dispensed under pressure in the form of a spray fan (2) from a spray nozzle (10) of the spray gun (1), wherein, according to control signals obtained during the operation of the road marking machine, a height (H) of the spray gun (1) above the road surface (4) is adjusted so that changes in the line width (B) of the marking line (3) are compensated.The method according to the invention is characterized in that the marking process is continuously recorded as a video using a video camera (5), that actual values (Bi) of the line width (B) of the generated marking line (3) are continuously calculated from the video recordings using an image evaluation program, that the actual values (Bi) of the line width (B) are compared with stored target values (Bs) of the line width (B), that corresponding control signals are generated when there are deviations between the actual values (Bi) and the target values (Bs), and that the height (H) of the spray gun (1) above the road surface (4) is adjusted by means of the control signals in order to reduce the deviation. The invention also relates to a road marking machine.