Rain gauge
DCFirst Claim
Patent Images
1. A rain gauge comprising:
- a central elongated tube;
indicia extending vertically along the lateral axes of said tube and spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance;
an interface means mounted to the top of the tube and a closure in the bottom of said tube;
the interface means having a collecting opening for receiving rain water;
said collecting opening having an area which is larger than the area of at least a portion of the tube by a factor equal to a unit of rainfall indicated in the indicia at the location of the diameter of the tube divided by the factor;
said interface means being a funnel shaped collector communicating with the top of the tube whereby rain may flow from the collector into the tube;
said interface means including an open top portion of sufficient size to hold substantial water, a horizontal plate having holes in it through which the water may flow into the tube and a bottom portion fitting within the tube and forming a sealing relation therein, said holes being sufficiently small so as to avoid debris falling into the tube and being less than 1/2 inch in diameter;
said funnel shaped collector being capable of holding at least two cubic inches of water.
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Abstract
To permit easy reading of the rainfall at a distance, an intercepting means on a rain gauge intercepts rain falling through a larger area than the upper surface area of the rain water within the container of the rain gauge. A colored float points to rainfall markers on an expanded scale along the container so that if rain is indicated in inches, the indicia means has its inch marks spaced vertically to correlate with the float at distances larger than inches.
31 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A rain gauge comprising:
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a central elongated tube; indicia extending vertically along the lateral axes of said tube and spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance; an interface means mounted to the top of the tube and a closure in the bottom of said tube; the interface means having a collecting opening for receiving rain water; said collecting opening having an area which is larger than the area of at least a portion of the tube by a factor equal to a unit of rainfall indicated in the indicia at the location of the diameter of the tube divided by the factor; said interface means being a funnel shaped collector communicating with the top of the tube whereby rain may flow from the collector into the tube; said interface means including an open top portion of sufficient size to hold substantial water, a horizontal plate having holes in it through which the water may flow into the tube and a bottom portion fitting within the tube and forming a sealing relation therein, said holes being sufficiently small so as to avoid debris falling into the tube and being less than 1/2 inch in diameter;
said funnel shaped collector being capable of holding at least two cubic inches of water. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A rain gauge comprising:
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a central elongated tube; indicia extending vertically along the lateral axes of said tube and spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance; an interface means mounted to the top of the tube and a closure in the bottom of said tube; the interface means having a collecting opening for receiving rain water; said collecting opening having an area which is larger than the area of at least a portion of the tube by a factor equal to a unit of rainfall indicated in the indicia at the location of the diameter of the tube divided by the factor; said interface means including an open top portion of sufficient size to hold substantial water, a horizontal plate having holes in it through which the water may flow into the tube and a bottom portion fitting within the tube and forming a sealing relation therein, said holes being sufficiently small so as to avoid debris falling into the tube and being less than 1/2 inch in diameter;
said funnel shaped collector being capable of holding at least two cubic inches of water. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A rain gauge comprising:
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a central elongated tube; indicia extending vertically along the lateral axes of said tube and spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance; an interface means mounted to the top of the tube and a closure in the bottom of said tube; the interface means having a collecting opening for receiving rain water; said collecting opening having an area which is larger than the area of at least a portion of the tube by a factor equal to a unit of rainfall indicated in the indicia at the location of the diameter of the tube divided by the factor; said indicia being printed at least 1/4 inch in height and at least 3/16 inch in width with the lines forming the individual indicia being at least 1/16 inch wide to provide clear visibility, wherein the indicia can be read from a distance of at least 100 feet by a person with 20/20 vision.
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13. A rain gauge comprising:
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a central elongated tube; indicia extending vertically along the lateral axes of said tube and spaced apart from each other a predetermined distance; an interface means mounted to the top of the tube and a closure in the bottom of said tube; the interface means having a collecting opening for receiving rain water; said collecting opening having an area which is larger than the area of at least a portion of the tube by a factor equal to a unit of rainfall indicated in the indicia at the location of the diameter of the tube divided by the factor; said rain gauge including a transparent tubular holding portion with a closure at the bottom end adapted to be inserted therein. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of making a rain gauge comprising the steps of;
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extruding a transparent plastic tube; printing on the wall of the tube indicia of rain in inches spaced at distances from each other larger than the actual inches indicated by the indicia; molding a closure at one end sized to fit and close the tube; injection molding a top funnel member to fit in the top of the tube having an opening larger than the inner diameter of the tube. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification