Parking Lot Striping Method and Installation

Abstract

A method for delineating parking stalls on a parking lot surface includes providing lengths of webbing and a plurality of stake assemblies. The method proceeds by arranging the lengths of webbing in a desired pattern on the parking lot surface that delineates parking stalls, preferably stretching them lengthwise, and then driving stake assemblies through holes in the webbing and into the underlying body of material in order to secure the webbing on the parking lot surface. A parking lot installation constructed according to the invention includes a plurality of lengths of webbing that have been arranged and secured as stated above. The method is not limited to parking lots and parking stall delineation, as it can be used to mark a boundary or delineate a space for other purposes.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/241,795 filed Oct. 15, 2015.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

[0002] This invention relates generally to the fields of visible boundary and border delineation, and more particularly to a method and equipment for parking lot striping for parking stall delineation.

2. Description of Related Art

[0003] The term "parking lot" herein refers to a site at which an underlying body of material (e.g., ground, black top, or concrete slab) defines a parking lot surface upon which parking stalls are (or are to be) delineated. The term "parking stalls" in that context refers to spaces on the parking lot surface that are delineated as a suitable place for a person to park their vehicle (e.g., their truck or automobile). With such parking stalls properly delineated relative to each other, efficient use of parking lot surface results.

[0004] Parking stalls are frequently delineated by painting striping upon a paved parking lot surface. This is often referred to as "striping," and the workers doing the striping often refer to themselves as "parking lot stripers." Striping that way with paint can be quite messy, however, and require multiple tools and associated equipment. In addition, painting results in parking lot downtime while the surface is prepared for painting and while the paint dries. Moreover, painted stripes are not very durable.

[0005] Some parking lot stripers use adhesively secured striping tape. But, that technique still involves surface preparation, adhesive deployment with suitable tools, striping tape placement, and adhesive curing time. Beyond all that, neither the painting technique nor the adhesive tape technique works on dirt, grass, or other unpaved surfaces.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] In view of the foregoing, it is a primary objective of the present invention to alleviate the concerns outlined above. The present invention achieves this objective predicated on the inventor's realization of the problems associated with existing delineation techniques, followed by the inventor's conception of the technique of using durable polypropylene webbing (e.g., four-inch wide lengths) having spaced-apart holes (e.g., every 18 inches, or so). Lengths of that webbing are affixed on the parking lot surface in a desired parking stall pattern, with the flexible webbing following the contours of the parking lot surface. Stakes hold the webbing in place. The stakes extend through spaced-apart holes in the webbing and into the parking lot underlying body of material beneath the parking lot surface.

[0007] The resulting parking lot installation can be more conveniently prepared with less downtime. In addition, the striping is more durable than painted striping, and the striping technique works on most any type of surface, including unpaved surfaces such as dirt and grass, and other surfaces such as concrete and blacktop. Moreover, the striping method of the present invention lends itself to any of various applications where boundary marking and/or space delineation are desired.

[0008] In general, the techniques and associated components of the present invention find use for unpaved surfaces, car shows, seasonal parking, concerts, weddings, camp site boundaries, golf course boundaries, overflow parking, Christmas tree and pumpkin stand parking, and much more. They utilize space for maximum parking while maintaining compliance with The American's With Disabilities Act (ADA). They lessen the need for parking ushers/attendants. They work for parking surfaces unable to maintain paint. They save money on maintenance. The following detailed description and accompanying illustrative drawings make the foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention more apparent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] FIG. 1 of the drawings is a perspective rendition of a parking lot installation constructed according to the invention at an unpaved site;

[0010] FIG. 2 of the drawings shows a combination of components used to construct a parking lot installation according to the methodology of the invention;

[0011] FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic overhead view showing a length of webbing in relationship to a device used to stretch the webbing during installation;

[0012] FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a handicapped marker constructed according to the invention with webbing for parking lot use;

[0013] FIG. 5 an arrow marker constructed according to the invention with webbing for parking lot use;

[0014] FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail of the upwardly facing side of a portion of the arrow marker identified in FIG. 5;

[0015] FIG. 7 an enlarged detail of the downwardly facing side of the portion of the arrow marker identified in FIGS. 5; and

[0016] FIG. 8 a block diagram of the steps involved in delineating parking stalls on a parking lot surface according to the methodology of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] A parking lot installation constructed according to the present invention is identified in FIG. 1 of the drawings as a parking lot installation 10. It has been constructed in line with the methodology of the present invention on an upwardly facing surface 11 of an underlying body of material 12 in order to delineate multiple parking stalls 13 on the surface 11 at which people can park their vehicles (not shown). Just three of the six parking stalls in FIG. 1 are identified with reference letters for illustrative purposes (i.e., parking stalls A, B, and C). The other three parking stalls are similar to the nine-foot by eighteen-foot parking stalls A, B, and C.

[0018] Although the illustrated surface 11 in FIG. 1 is unpaved (e.g., dirt or grass), and the underlying body of material 12 is dirt (i.e., soil, earth, ground, terra firma), an installation may be constructed according to the present invention on concrete, blacktop, or other underlying body instead of dirt. In addition, the parking stalls may be shaped and sized differently than that showed. Furthermore, the strips themselves (i.e., the lengths of webbing) may have any of various suitable dimensions, all within the inventive concepts disclosed.

[0019] The essential common element is that the strips delineating the parking stalls include lengths of webbing (i.e., strips of strong, flexible material) that are held in place by stakes that extend through the webbing and into the underlying body of material. This is illustrated in FIG. 1 by a stake assembly 13 extending through a length of webbing 14 and into the underlying body of material 12 as part of the striping that delineates the parking stall A. The stake assembly 13 is just one of multiple stake assemblies holding the length of webbing in place. Only one stake assembly is shown in FIG. 1 for illustrative purposes, but several spaced-apart stake assemblies are use to hold the length of webbing in place; they extend through multiple spaced-apart holes in the webbing (e.g., spaced apart by approximately eighteen inches, or so). With the length of webbing lying flat on a planar surface, the multiple spaced-apart holes are located along a straight-line central axis of elongation 15 of the length of webbing 14.

[0020] FIG. 2 illustrates the length of webbing 14, along with some stake assemblies 16, 17, and 18, and a stretching apparatus 19. The length of webbing 14 takes the form of a four-inch wide length of commercially available, polypropylene-and-nylon blended webbing material that has been rolled up for transport after having been prepared for parking lot striping purposes by cutting it to a desired length and painting it a desired color; it may also have been dipped in glass beads for daytime UV protection and nighttime reflection. During the manufacturing process, for example, the webbing is spray-injected with the desired color of paint and goes through a multilayer painting process before being dipped in glass beads for reflectorization to make it reflective of light.

[0021] Each of the stake assemblies shown in FIG. 2 is the combination of a stake and a washer. The stake assembly 16, for example, is the combination of a commercially available, 10-inch long by 3/8-inch diameter, galvanized steel stake 16A with a galvanized steel washer 16B. The stake 16A component is also sometimes referred to as a "spike." The illustrated stretching apparatus 19 shown in FIG. 2 includes a known type of ratcheting device that the parking lot striper uses to stretch the length of webbing 14 lengthwise before securing it on the parking lot surface 11 with multiple stake assemblies. FIG. 2 also illustrates a grommeted first hole 21 in a first end portion 14A of the length of webbing 14; in that regard, a "grommeted hole" is a hole with a grommet mounted in it (e.g., a 3/8-inch stainless steel grommet).

[0022] A parking lot striper installs the length of webbing 14 by unrolling it and laying it in a desired position on the parking lot surface 11 as shown, in the diagrammatic view of FIG. 3. The parking lot striper secures the first end portion 14A of the length of webbing 14 in a desired position on the parking lot surface 11, doing so by driving a stake assembly through the grommeted first hole 21 on the first end portion 14A. Next, the parking lot striper secures an opposite second end portion 14B of the length of webbing 14 to the stretching apparatus 19. Then, with the stretching apparatus 19 temporarily secured on the parking lot surface 11 (e.g., by stake assemblies 19A driven into the underlying body of material 12), the parking lot striper operates the stretching apparatus 19 to stretch the length of webbing 14 lengthwise until the length of webbing 14 is taut. Just one stake assembly 19A of four stake assemblies is identified with a reference numeral in FIG. 3 for illustrative purposes.

[0023] Thereafter, with the length of webbing 14 stretched taut, the parking lot striper drives stake assemblies through remaining grommeted holes in the length of webbing and into the underlying body of material 12 beneath the parking lot surface 11. After that, the first end portion 14A of the length of webbing 14 is removed from the stretching apparatus 19, the stretching apparatus 19 is dislodged from its temporary securement on the parking lot surface 11, and the second end portion 14B of the length of webbing 14 is secured in its desired position on the parking lot surface 11 with at least one stake assembly (preferably two stake assemblies) driven through it and into the underlying body of material 12.

[0024] FIGS. 1 and 2 also identify a first edge 14C and a second edge 14D of the length of webbing 14. Those edges bound the four-inch width of the length of webbing 14. An upperside 14E of the length of webbing 14 faces upwardly away from the surface 11 in the installation 10, and an underside 14F faces downwardly toward the surface 11. Painting of the webbing of which the length of webbing 14 is composed (e.g., high-tension-capable, polypropylene-nylon-blended webbing with a 6,000-pound breaking strength capacity) preferably includes 3000 psi injection of water-based latex paint into the webbing, followed by multiple layers of paint and glass beads on the upperside 14E and the underside 14F.

[0025] Turning now to FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 7, they show various details of parking lot markers constructed according to the present invention. First, consider the handicapped marker 30 in FIG. 4. It is fabricated from multiple strips 31 through 38 of polypropylene webbing that are stitched together, provided with grommeted holes through which stake assemblies can be driven, and painted with a handicapped parking image specified by ADA regulations. Only a few grommeted holes are shown in FIG. 4 for illustrative purposes, and just one grommeted hole 39 is identified. The parking lot striper adds the handicapped marker 30 to a parking lot installation where needed by placing it upon the parking lot surface and driving stake assemblies through the grommeted holes provided.

[0026] FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 illustrated details of an arrow marker 40 that the parking lot striper can also add to a parking lot installation. The marker 40 is fabricated from multiple strips of polypropylene webbing that are stitched together and provided with grommeted holes through which stake assemblies can be driven. The enlarged portion of the marker 40 showed in FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrates the fabrication technique. The line along which two abutting strips 41 and 42 of webbing abut is backed by a two-inch wide length of webbing 43 that a fabricator stitches to the strips 41 and 42 with an industrial sewing machine.

[0027] The foregoing makes in apparent that the present invention can be used for all parking stall applications with single lines, double lines, square and round ended stalls, disabled stalls, van-accessible, and standard parallel stalls, and tandem stalls. It works in all continuous line applications, including 4-inch, 6-inch, and 8-inch in width intermittent lines, as well as solid 4-inch, 6-inch, and 8-inch in width lines. Typical webbing colors include red, white, blue, yellow, green, and black, and the webbing may be reflectorized and non-reflectorized. It works for all parking lot legends, directional arrows, custom wording, and markings that may be applied in the scope of work of parking lot striping.

[0028] FIG. 8 shows the methodology of the present invention using a block diagram 50. The method begins as shown in a block 51 by providing a plurality of lengths of webbing fabricated as previously described, and a plurality of stake assemblies. The method proceeds by arranging the lengths of webbing in a desired pattern on the parking lot surface in order to delineate parking stalls (a block 52). Next, the lengths of webbing are preferably stretched lengthwise (a block 53). Stake assemblies are then driven through holes in the lengths of webbing to secure the lengths of webbing in place on the parking lot surface (a block 54).

[0029] Thus, the illustrated embodiment of the present invention improves upon existing parking lot striping techniques and installations by using durable polypropylene webbing that is staked in place to delineate parking stalls, and it works for any of various other striping applications. Although an exemplary embodiment and exemplary method steps have been shown and described, a person having ordinary skill in the art may make many changes, modifications, and substitutions without necessarily departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. As for the specific terminology used to describe the exemplary embodiment, it is not intended to limit the invention; each specific term is intended to include all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose or function. The term "webbing" herein, for example, includes cargo tie-down straps, tow straps, lifting straps, recovery straps, and the like.

Claims

1. A parking lot installation, comprising: an underlying body of material; a parking lot surface defined by said underlying body of material; a plurality of striping lines on the parking lot surface that are arranged in a desired pattern that delineates at least one parking stall on the parking lot surface; and means for holding said striping lines on said parking lot surface in the desired pattern; wherein the plurality of striping lines includes at least a first striping line; wherein the first striping line includes a first length of webbing; wherein the first length of webbing includes a central axis of elongation, and the first length of webbing defines a plurality of holes through the first length of webbing that are located at spaced apart intervals along the central axis of elongation; and wherein the means for holding the striping line on the parking lot surface includes a first plurality of stake assemblies, each stake assembly of the first plurality of stake assemblies extending through a respective one of the plurality of holes and into the underlying body of material.

2. A parking lot installation as recited in claim 1, wherein the first length of striping is composed of a high-tension-capable, polypropylene-nylon-blended webbing.

3. A parking lot installation as recited in claim 1, wherein the first length of striping is painted with a water-based latex coating and dipped in glass beads for day-time UV protection and night-time reflection.

4. A parking lot installation as recited in claim 1, wherein the first length of striping is stretched lengthwise and held stretched before being staked to the underlying body of material.

5. A parking lot installation as recited in claim 1, wherein the underlying body of material is soil.

6. A parking lot installation as recited in claim 1, wherein the underlying body of material is concrete.

7. A parking lot installation as recited in claim 1, wherein the underlying body of material is blacktop material.

8. A method for delineating parking stalls on a parking lot surface defined by an underlying body of material, the method comprising: providing a plurality of lengths of webbing such that at least a first length of webbing of the plurality of lengths of webbing includes a central axis of elongation and the first length of webbing defines a plurality of holes through the first length of webbing that are located at spaced apart intervals along the central axis of elongation; providing a plurality of stake assemblies; arranging the lengths of webbing in a desired pattern on the parking lot surface that delineates parking stalls; driving each of the plurality of stake assemblies through a respective hole of the plurality of holes and into the underlying body of material in order to secure the first length of webbing on the parking lot surface.

9. A method as recited in claim 8, further comprising the step of stretching the first length of webbing along the central axis of elongation before driving each of the plurality of stake assemblies through a respective hole of the plurality of holes.