Electronic level
First Claim
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1. An electronic level comprising:
- light-producing means for producing light;
light-responsive means, responsive to receipt of light, for producing a first electronic signal representing the amount of light from the light-producing means that strikes the light responsive means;
light-interrupting means suspended from a structure and capable of rotating about a first axis, for preventing at least a portion of the light produced by the light-producing means from striking the light-responsive means, with the light-interrupting means being arranged such that the amount of light from the light-producing means that strikes the light-responsive means is a measure of the error angle between a predetermined line on the light-interrupting means sand a second predetermined line in a predetermined substantially vertical plane that is substantially perpendicular to the first axis; and
signal means perceptible to a user including electronic means to receive said first electronic signal from said light-responsive means to produce an intermittent audio signal or an intermittent visual signal with a modulation frequency that varies substantially continuously and substantially montonically with increase in the magnitude of the error angle;
wherein said light-interrupting means includes a suspension means to suspend a weighted object from said structure so that, when said structure is oriented such that said error angle is zero, the suspension means maximally or completely blocks the light that would otherwise strike such light responsive means; and
wherein said weighted object is free to rotate in said predetermined vertical plane but is substantially prevented from rotating in any plane that is not parallel to said predetermined plane;
wherein;
the suspension means includes a thread tautly attached at its ends to two spaced apart points on the structure; and
the weighted object has a width and is attached along the width to the thread.
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Abstract
An electronic level for determining the angular orientation of a structure, where the error angle between actual and desired angular orientation of the structure is indicated by a variable signal perceptible to the user.
22 Citations
15 Claims
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1. An electronic level comprising:
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light-producing means for producing light; light-responsive means, responsive to receipt of light, for producing a first electronic signal representing the amount of light from the light-producing means that strikes the light responsive means; light-interrupting means suspended from a structure and capable of rotating about a first axis, for preventing at least a portion of the light produced by the light-producing means from striking the light-responsive means, with the light-interrupting means being arranged such that the amount of light from the light-producing means that strikes the light-responsive means is a measure of the error angle between a predetermined line on the light-interrupting means sand a second predetermined line in a predetermined substantially vertical plane that is substantially perpendicular to the first axis; and signal means perceptible to a user including electronic means to receive said first electronic signal from said light-responsive means to produce an intermittent audio signal or an intermittent visual signal with a modulation frequency that varies substantially continuously and substantially montonically with increase in the magnitude of the error angle; wherein said light-interrupting means includes a suspension means to suspend a weighted object from said structure so that, when said structure is oriented such that said error angle is zero, the suspension means maximally or completely blocks the light that would otherwise strike such light responsive means; and
wherein said weighted object is free to rotate in said predetermined vertical plane but is substantially prevented from rotating in any plane that is not parallel to said predetermined plane;
wherein;the suspension means includes a thread tautly attached at its ends to two spaced apart points on the structure; and the weighted object has a width and is attached along the width to the thread.
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2. An electronic level comprising:
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light-producing means for producing light; light-responsive means, responsive to receipt of light, for producing a first electronic signal representing the amount of light from the light-producing means that strikes the light-responsive means; light-interrupting means suspended from a structure and capable of rotating about a first axis, for preventing at least a portion of the light produced by the light-producing means from striking the light-responsive means, with the light-interrupting means being arranged such that the amount of light from the light-producing means that strikes the light-responsive means is a measure of the error angle between a predetermined line on the light-interrupting means and a second predetermined line in a predetermined substantially vertical plane that is substantially perpendicular to the first axis; signal means perceptible to a user and coupled to the light-responsive means for indicating by a variable signal the amplitude of the error angle;
whereinthe light-interrupting means includes; a thread tautly attached at its ends to two spaced apart points on the structure; and a weighted object having a width, wherein the weighted object is attached along the width to the thread, so that, when the structure is oriented such that said error angle is zero, the weighted object maximally or completely blocks the light that would otherwise strike the light-responsive means. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification