Self-aligning sewer pipe laser
First Claim
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1. A pipe-aligning apparatus for aligning individual sections of pipe in a pipeline comprising:
- a target assembly having a body, a base configured to position said body in a pipe, a visual bull'"'"'s-eye target defined on said body, and a pair of retroreflective strips at a given location with respect to said visual bull'"'"'s-eye target; and
a laser unit having a source for generating a collimated beam of light, a scanning device for scanning said collimated beam of light laterally within a particular angular range and for monitoring an angular position of said collimated beam of light, a receiver configured to receive light reflected from said retroreflective strips, and a control;
wherein said control is responsive to said angular position of said collimated beam of light when said receiver receives light reflected from said retroreflective strips in order to determine an angular position of said collimated beam of light which coincides with said visual bull'"'"'s-eye target and to fixedly position said collimated beam of light substantially on said visual bull'"'"'s-eye target.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for aligning individual sections of pipe includes directing a beam of collimated light in the general direction of the pipeline and scanning the beam laterally. A target, having a retro reflective portion, is positioned in a location that will be traversed by the scanning beam. A reflection of the beam produced by the reflective portion is received and processed. The scanning is discontinued when the reflective portion is located and the beam is aimed in a direction related to the position of the retro reflective target.
63 Citations
6 Claims
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1. A pipe-aligning apparatus for aligning individual sections of pipe in a pipeline comprising:
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a target assembly having a body, a base configured to position said body in a pipe, a visual bull'"'"'s-eye target defined on said body, and a pair of retroreflective strips at a given location with respect to said visual bull'"'"'s-eye target; and a laser unit having a source for generating a collimated beam of light, a scanning device for scanning said collimated beam of light laterally within a particular angular range and for monitoring an angular position of said collimated beam of light, a receiver configured to receive light reflected from said retroreflective strips, and a control; wherein said control is responsive to said angular position of said collimated beam of light when said receiver receives light reflected from said retroreflective strips in order to determine an angular position of said collimated beam of light which coincides with said visual bull'"'"'s-eye target and to fixedly position said collimated beam of light substantially on said visual bull'"'"'s-eye target. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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Specification