Leveling rod

• US 6,209,210 B1
• Filed: 03/03/1999
• Issued: 04/03/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Joel A. Stout
• Original Assignee: Joel A. Stout
• Inventors: Stout, Joel A
• Primary Examiner(s): Fulton, Christopher W.
• Application Number:
  US09/261,376
• Time in Patent Office: 762 Days
• Field of Search: 33/295, 33/293, 33/294, 33/296, 33/809, 33/810
• US Class Current: 33/293
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 15/006 Detectors therefor

Abstract

A leveling rod is provided for determining whether a point in question is higher or lower than a bench mark elevation and measuring how high or how low the point is relative to the benchmark elevation. The leveling rod includes a top unit and a bottom unit. Each unit contains a pair of elongated telescoping tubes and a clamp to secure the tubes at any degree of extension. The inside tubes of each unit are detachably coupled to form a rod such that when held upright the outside tube of the top unit extends up and the outside tube of the bottom unit extends down. The outside bottom tube has a base end for engaging the surface to be surveyed. The outside tube of the top unit has a window with a reference mark centered vertically thereon. This window allows the surveyor to view a scale which is carried by the inside tube of the top unit. The scale indicates to the user whether the point being surveyed is higher or lower and measures how high or how low the point is relative to the bench mark elevation

Claims

1. A leveling rod for determining whether a point being surveyed is higher or lower than a bench mark elevation and for measuring how high or how low the point being surveyed is relative to the bench mark elevation, comprising:

(a) a top unit and a bottom unit;

(b) said top unit having;

a reference member with a reference mark thereon;

a scale member;

a scale means on said scale member for indicating whether the point being surveyed is higher or lower than the bench mark elevation and for measuring how high or how low the point being surveyed is relative to the bench mark elevation;

said reference member and said scale member adjacently slidably attached being vertically moveable relative to each other along a longitudinal axis;

a coupling attached to the lower end of said top unit for detachably connecting said bottom unit; and

a first clamp means for securing said reference mark at a point relative to said scale means;

(c) said bottom unit having;

a connecting member and a base member;

said connecting member and said base member adjacently slidably attached being vertically moveable relative to each other along a longitudinal axis;

a mate to said coupling of said top unit attached to the top end of said connecting member for connecting said top unit to said bottom unit;

a bottom of said base member having a base end for engaging the point being surveyed; and

a second clamp means for securing said base end a spaced distance from one of said reference mark and said scale means.

2. The leveling rod according to claim 1, wherein said scale means is a label marked off in units with zero located at its vertical center for indicating that the point being surveyed is equal in elevation to the bench mark elevation and denominate numbers that increase as they proceed up away from said center for measuring how low the point being surveyed is relative to the bench mark elevation and denominate numbers that increase as they proceed down away from said center for measuring how high the point being surveyed is relative to the bench mark elevation.

3. The leveling rod according to claim 2, wherein that portion of said label above said center is shaded a first color and that portion of said label below said center is shaded a second color.

4. The leveling rod according to claim 3, wherein said first color is red and said second color is green.

5. A leveling rod for determining whether a point being surveyed is higher or lower than a bench mark elevation and for measuring how high or how low the point being surveyed is relative to the bench mark elevation, comprising:

(a) a top unit and a bottom unit;

(b) said top unit having;

a pair of elongated telescoping tubes, an inside tube within an outside tube;

said outside tube of said top unit having a window with the vertical center thereof marked for reference;

a coupling is attached to the lower end of said inside tube of said top unit for detachably connecting said bottom unit;

a scale means carried by said inside tube of said top unit for viewing through said window of said outside tube and indicating whether the point being surveyed is higher or lower than the bench mark elevation and measuring how high or how low the point being surveyed is relative to the bench mark elevation, wherein said scale means is a label marked off in units with zero located at said vertical center for indicating that the point being surveyed is equal in elevation to the bench mark elevation and denominate numbers that increase as they proceed up away from said vertical center for measuring how low the point being surveyed is relative to the bench mark elevation and denominate numbers that increase as they proceed down away from said vertical center for measuring how high the point being surveyed is relative to the bench mark elevation and with that portion of said label above said vertical center shaded a contrasting color relative to the shading on the portion of said label below said vertical center for distinguishing the point being surveyed below the bench mark elevation from the point being surveyed above the bench mark elevation; and

a clamp mounted on the lower end of said outside tube of said top unit for temporarily securing the scale at zero relative to said reference mark;

(g) said bottom unit having;

a pair of elongated telescoping tubes, an inside tube within an outside tube;

said outside tube of said bottom unit having a base end for engaging the point being surveyed and a clamp mounted on the top end of said bottom unit for securing said inside tube of said bottom unit to maintain said base end a spaced distance from said scale means; and

a mate to said coupling on said inside tube of said top unit is attached to the top end of said inside tube of said bottom unit.

6. The leveling rod according to claim 5, wherein that portion of said label above said vertical center is red and that portion of said label below said center is shaded green.

7. A method for determining with a leveling rod whether a point being surveyed is higher or lower than a bench mark elevation and for measuring how high or how low the point being surveyed is relative to the bench mark elevation, the method comprising the steps of:

a. initializing the leveling rod, the leveling rod comprising;

a top unit, a bottom unit, and a coupling means for detachably connecting the top unit and the bottom unit, the top unit having;

a reference member with a reference mark thereon;

a scale member slidably attached to the reference member;

a scale means on the scale member for indicating whether the point being surveyed is higher or lower than the bench mark elevation and for measuring how high or how low the point being surveyed is relative to the bench mark elevation, wherein the scale means is marked off in units with zero located at a vertical center and denominate numbers that increase as they proceed up away from the vertical center and denominate numbers that increase as they proceed down away from the vertical center; and

a clamp means for securing said reference member at a point relative to said scale member;

the bottom unit having;

a connecting member;

a base member slidably attached to the connecting member;

a base end at a bottom of the base member for engaging the point being surveyed; and

a clamp means for securing the base end a spaced distance from the reference mark,

wherein said initializing of the leveling rod comprises securing the reference member of the top unit of the leveling rod to the scale member such that the reference mark on the reference member is aligned horizontally with the vertical center of the scale means;

b. attaching a survey laser receiver to the top unit such that it aligns horizontally with the reference mark on the reference member of the top unit;

c. placing the bottom end of the bottom unit on the benchmark elevation;

d. adjusting vertically the connecting member of the bottom unit in relation to the base member of the bottom unit until the survey laser receiver is aligned with a surveying laser beam;

e. securing the connecting member to the base member;

f. moving the leveling rod to the point to be surveyed;

g. adjusting vertically the reference member of the top unit until the survey laser receiver aligns horizontally with the surveying laser beam; and

h. indicating on the scale member a distance between the point being surveyed and the benchmark elevation, wherein the distance indicates how high or how low the point being surveyed is relative to the bench mark elevation.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein that portion of the scale means above the vertical center is shaded a first color, and that portion of the scale means below the vertical center is shaded a second color.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the first color is red and the second color is green.