Automatic ground marking method and apparatus
First Claim
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1. An automatic ground marking apparatus for marking ground, the apparatus comprising:
- a carriage responsive to carriage control signals for traversing the ground, the carriage comprising a controllable steering and drive system and a controllable marking system;
a position determining system arranged to determine the position of the carriage; and
a processor responsive to the position determining system and generating the carriage control signals wherein the controllable steering and drive system respond to the carriage control signals to cause the carriage to traverse the ground and mark out a desired sign on the ground.
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Abstract
An automatic ground marking apparatus including a carriage (1) responsive to carriage control signals for traversing the ground (5), the carriage having a controllable steering and drive system, a controllable marking system and a position determining system (6) arranged to determine the position of the carriage. The ground marking apparatus further includes a processor (8) responsive to the position determining system and operatively executing a software product for generating said carriage control signals to cause the carriage (1) to mark out a predetermined sign (14) on the ground.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. An automatic ground marking apparatus for marking ground, the apparatus comprising:
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a carriage responsive to carriage control signals for traversing the ground, the carriage comprising a controllable steering and drive system and a controllable marking system;
a position determining system arranged to determine the position of the carriage; and
a processor responsive to the position determining system and generating the carriage control signals wherein the controllable steering and drive system respond to the carriage control signals to cause the carriage to traverse the ground and mark out a desired sign on the ground. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A computer software product comprising logic stored on computer readable media and executable by a processor for causing a carriage including a controllable steering and drive system and a controllable marking system, to mark out a sign on a ground surface, the software product comprising:
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carriage position logic for reading a carriage position from a data stream generated by a position sensing device;
sign point logic for reading a file of points defining a desired sign; and
command logic for generating commands to cause a carriage to traverse the ground surface and dispense paint on the surface in order to mark out the sign.
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7. A method for marking undulating turf, comprising the steps of:
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monitoring the position of an automated carriage arranged to move over a predetermined path;
creating a collection of points defining a desired sign using recorded position coordinates; and
processing the collection of points to generate control signals to cause the carriage to traverse the ground in the predetermined path to mark out the desired sign. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of surveying a surface by a carriage adapted to automatically traverse the surface to be surveyed and associated with a position determining system, the method comprising the steps of:
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defining a path for the carriage to follow to cover the surface to be surveyed;
generating command signals to instruct the carriage to traverse the path;
receiving positioning data for the carriage from the position determining system during the traverse; and
storing the positioning data in a data file. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A surveying apparatus for surveying a surface of interest, the surveying apparatus comprising:
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a carriage means responsive to carriage control signals for traversing the ground, the carriage having a controllable steering and drive system;
a position determining means arranged to determine the position of the carriage; and
a transmitter means for transmitting the positioning data from the position determining system to a remote station for the creation of a digital terrain model of the surface. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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Specification