Three-dimensional optical levelling, plumbing and angle-calibrating instrument

• US 5,539,990 A
• Filed: 05/30/1995
• Issued: 07/30/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Guan Y.U. Lai, JING Lei Tech Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Mike Le
• Inventors: Le, Mike
• Primary Examiner(s): Fulton, Christopher W.
• Application Number:
  US08/453,169
• Time in Patent Office: 427 Days
• Field of Search: 33/283, 33/281, 33/286, 33/291, 33/DiG. 21, 33/282, 33/285, 33/276, 356/138, 356/149, 356/250
• US Class Current: 33/283
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 15/004 Reference lines, planes or sectors
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 33/21 with laser

Abstract

An optical levelling, plumbing and angle-calibrating instrument includes: a frame; a plumb body universally pendulously mounted on the frame and defining a vertical plumb line gravitationally; at least an illuminator electrically connected to a power supply and mounted on the plumb body for emitting laser light; and at least a cylindrical-surfaced lens mounted on the plumb body in front of the illuminator for planarly diverging the laser light as emitted from the illuminator through the lens to form a laser light plane transverse to a lens axis of the cylindrical-surfaced lens, whereby the laser light plane will projectively intersect an objective wall to form a straight line of optical image, serving as a reference line for levelling or plumbing use.

Claims

1. An optical levelling, plumbing and angle-calibrating instrument comprising:

a frame;

a plumb body universally pendulously mounted on the frame and defining a vertical plumb line gravitationally;

an illuminating means electrically connected to a power supply means and mounted on the plumb body for emitting laser light; and

a cylindrical-surfaced lens means mounted on said plumb body in front of said illuminating means and having a lens axis projectively perpendicular to the laser light emitted from said illuminating means for planarly diverging the laser light as emitted from said illuminating means through said lens means to form a laser light plane transverse to a lens axis of said cylindrical-surfaced lens means, said laser light plane projectively intersecting an objective wall to form an optical image line, said illuminating means and said lens means operatively projecting a first laser light plane projectively perpendicular to the vertical plumb line of the plumb body to intersect the objective wall to form a horizontal straight line of optical image for levelling; and

said illuminating means and said lens means operatively projecting a second laser light plane projectively perpendicular to said first laser light plane to intersect the objective wall to form a vertical straight line for plumbing.

2. An optical levelling, plumbing and angle-calbrating instrument according to claim 1, wherein said power supply means includes at least a battery mounted in said plumb body.

3. An optical levelling, plumbing and angle-calbrating instrument according to claim 1, wherein said illuminating means includes:

a first illuminator, a second illuminator juxtapositional to said first illuminator, and a third illuminator angularly deviated from said first illuminator and said second illuminator;

said cylindrical-surfaced lens means including a first cylindrical-surfaced lens having a first lens axis parallel to the vertical plumb line and positioned in front of said first illuminator for forming a horizontal laser light plane, a second cylindrical-surfaced lens having a second lens axis projectively perpendicular to said first lens axis and positioned in front of said second illuminator for forming a first vertical laser light plane, and a third cylindrical-surfaced lens having a third lens axis projectively perpendicular to said second lens axis and positioned in front of said third illuminator for forming a second vertical laser light plane deviated from said first vertical laser light plane with an angle.

4. An optical levelling, plumbing and angle-calibrating instrument according to claim 3, wherein said third cylindrical-surfaced lens is separated from said second cylindrical-surfaced lens with a right angle to define a right angle between said second vertical laser light plane and said first vertical laser light plane.

5. An optical levelling, plumbing and angle-calibrating instrument according to claim 1, wherein said cylindrical-surfaced lens means includes:

a plurality of cylindrical-surfaced lenses linearly connected in series to allow a lens axis of each said cylindrical-surfaced lens to be projectively perpendicular to the laser light emitted from said illuminating means, said lenses positioned in front of said illuminating means to planarly diverge the laser light to form a laser plane projectively intersecting an objective wall to form a continuous optical image line on the wall.