Self-Leveling Multi-Line Laser Device

• US 20120090184A1
• Filed: 02/02/2010
• Published: 04/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Zimmermann, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 8,813,379 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 33/291
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/26 for measuring angles or tapers; for testing the alignment of axes
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 15/004 Reference lines, planes or sectors

Abstract

The invention relates to a self-leveling multi-line laser device. Said multi-line laser device comprises at least two laser beams and at least two reflecting cones, wherein the cone axes of the reflecting cones are perpendicular to each other and each of the laser beams can be directed, preferably eccentrically, parallel to the axis of one of reflecting cones against the tip of said reflecting cone. By means of the multi-line laser device, at least two projectable laser lines can be generated.

Claims

1. A self-leveling multi-line laser device comprising at least two laser beams and at least two reflective cones, wherein the cone axes of the reflective cones are perpendicular to one another and each of the laser beams is configured to be directed parallel to the axis of one of the reflective cones against the vertex of said reflective cone, as a result of which at least two projectable laser lines are generated.

2. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reflective cones have at least partial areas of a lateral surface of a right circular cone having a cone aperture angle of 90°

.

3. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the reflective cones has non-reflective partial areas.

4. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one laser beam is generated by a laser diode as laser beam source and is configured to be collimated by at least one collimating optical element.

5. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a laser beam having an elliptical beam cross section is generated by the laser diode, wherein the center axis of the elliptical beam cross section has a parallel offset relative to the cone axis and is spaced apart from the cone axis in the direction of the short semiaxes of the elliptical beam cross section and, the distance between the center axis of the elliptical beam cross section and the cone axis is less than or equal to the length of the short semiaxes of the elliptical beam cross section.

6. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a diaphragm arranged in the beam path of the laser diode.

7. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least two laser beams are coupled out from a laser beam source by beam splitting by a partly reflective optical element.

8. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the partly transmissive optical element is a partly transmissive mirror, wherein the partly transmissive mirror in each case forms angles of 45°

with the axes of the reflective cones and is arranged at the point of intersection of the axes of the two reflective cones.

9. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a laser beam source and a beam splitter, which in each case forms angles at 45°

with the axes of the reflective cones and is arranged at the point of intersection of the axes of the two reflective cones, as a result of which the laser beam of the laser beam source is split into two mutually perpendicular partial laser beams.

10. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the useable angular range of the laser line emitted from the reflective cone is at least 180°

in the horizontal plane and greater than 240°

in the vertical plane.

11. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 1, wherein an optical system carrier, on and/or in which the laser beam source(s), the collimating optical element(s) and the reflective cones are mounted, is alignable in a gravitational field, as a result of which the laser beams and cone axes are alignable in the direction of the gravitational vector or perpendicularly thereto.

12. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the self-leveling multi-line laser device has a third reflective cone or a third device for laser beam expansion, in particular a cylindrical lens or a diffractive optical element for generating a further, vertical, laser line, perpendicular to two other laser lines.

13. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the laser beam source(s), the collimating optical element(s) and the reflective cones are mounted on and/or in an optical system carrier, wherein the optical system carrier is embodied in self-leveling fashion and is suspended in oscillating fashion on two mutually perpendicular bearing axes aligned substantially horizontally in an operating state.

14. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the optical system carrier has a vibration damping arrangement.

15. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 4, wherein at least one laser beam is collimated by at least one collimating optical element.

16. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the at least one collimating optical element is a collimator lens.

17. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the useable angular range of the laser line emitted from the reflective cone is greater than 200°

in the horizontal plane and greater than 240°

in the vertical plane.

18. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the vibration damping arrangement includes a magnetic damping arrangement.

19. The self-leveling multi-line laser device as claimed in claim 18, wherein the magnetic damping arrangement includes an eddy-current damping arrangement.