Apparatus and method for marking a surface
First Claim
1. In an apparatus for marking a surface, the combination comprising:
- a surface marking mechanism including;
a location marker supported on said surface marking mechanism;
means for locating said location marker at a first point;
means for identifying the coordinate position of said first point;
means for locating said location marker at a second point;
means for identifying the coordinate position of said second point;
means for comparing said coordinate position of said first point and said coordinate position of said second point with a first ideal coordinate position and a second ideal coordinate position to yield a displacement vector instruction; and
means for moving said surface marking mechanism in response to said displacement vector instruction.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for marking a surface with a predetermined pattern is described. The apparatus includes a surface marking mechanism that supports a material dispenser. The material dispenser is manipulated along a number of axes including an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis. In addition, the material dispenser is manipulated to rotate around a w-axis and to form a tilt angle with the w-axis. The surface marking mechanism includes movement devices for initial positioning of the mechanism and for re-positioning the mechanism to complete a selected pattern that does not fit within the border of the mechanism. The surface marking mechanism is responsive to control signals from a controller. The control signals are derived from a mathematical model characterizing the spatial relationship between the predetermined pattern, the material dispenser, and the surface to be marked.
36 Citations
20 Claims
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1. In an apparatus for marking a surface, the combination comprising:
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a surface marking mechanism including; a location marker supported on said surface marking mechanism; means for locating said location marker at a first point; means for identifying the coordinate position of said first point; means for locating said location marker at a second point; means for identifying the coordinate position of said second point; means for comparing said coordinate position of said first point and said coordinate position of said second point with a first ideal coordinate position and a second ideal coordinate position to yield a displacement vector instruction; and means for moving said surface marking mechanism in response to said displacement vector instruction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification