Quick leveling apparatus

• US 4,625,424 A
• Filed: 12/28/1984
• Issued: 12/02/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1984
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cornelis F De La Haye
• Original Assignee: Cornelis F De La Haye
• Inventors: de la Haye, Cornelis F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Martin, Jr., William D.
• Application Number:
  US06/687,515
• Time in Patent Office: 704 Days
• Field of Search: 248/654, 248/631, 248/188.2, 248/550, 248/649, 137/625.47, 251/321, 251/77, 33/365, 33/367
• US Class Current: 33/367
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 9/10 with vertically-acting fluid cylinder
• CPC Class Codes: G12B 5/00 Adjusting position or attitude, e.g. level, of instruments or other apparatus, or of parts thereof levels per se G01C9/00; Compensating for the effects of tilting or acceleration, e.g. for optical apparatus

Abstract

Apparatus for Levelling a surface, such as a table, includes several bellows containing a fluid connected to the surface, conduits connecting the bellows together and a control valve for connecting or disconnecting the conduits, the control valve being located in a chamber and being separated from an actuator by a diaphragm.

Claims

1. Apparatus for leveling a surface, comprising at least three bellows means for supporting said surface, each said bellow means containing a pressure medium;

a casing having a casing wall provided with an opening therein, and a diaphragm closing said opening;

a chamber inside said casing and having a chamber wall provided with an opening adjacent said casing wall opening, a valve member mounted in said chamber, spring means urging said valve member to a closed position in which said valve member engages said chamber wall, closes said chamber wall opening and extends into said casing wall opening;

a conduit connected between each said bellows means and said casing, at least two of said conduits being in communication with one another when said valve member is urged against the bias of said spring means out of engagement with said chamber wall, said valve member being operable to disconnect said conduits from one another when in the closed position; and

a reciprocable actuator for said valve member mounted on the outside of said casing adjacent said diaphragm and arranged to be pushed into engagement with said valve member via said diaphragm and to move said valve member against the bias of said spring means out of engagement with said chamber wall.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said conduits are arranged such that the position of the surface can be controlled in either of the two main directions.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said chamber has a second wall opposite to said chamber wall having said opening, said second chamber wall being provided with a recess closed by a diaphragm member.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said valve member is made of slightly compressible material.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said valve member has a conical portion that closes said chamber wall opening.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said conical portion has a cylindrical portion of smaller diameter extending from the base of the conical portion, said cylindrical portion having passage means for equalizing pressure around said valve member in said chamber.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, disposed in a box-shaped supporting table.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bellows is surrounded by a casing consisting of two telescopicaly coacting portions.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the one portion of said telescopic casing portions is fitted with a supporting member adapted for coaction with table attachment means.

10. An apparatus according to claim 1 characterized in that the bellows are fulfilled with distilled water by which an antifreeze agent has been added.