Construction laser accessory for generating aligned spots or lines
First Claim
1. A method used in construction layout for producing and using a visible reference line on a surface, the line being substantially level or plumb, comprising:
- generating a visible laser beam,directing the laser beam through a lenticular array device having a lenticular array, the device having self-leveling means for maintaining the lenticular array in level or plumb orientation,directing the beam exiting the lenticular array device against said surface, thus producing a visible reference line which is substantially level or plumb on said surface, and using the resulting visible reference line on said surface as a reference in a construction procedure.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Accessories are disclosed for use with a laser tool which may or may not be self-leveling. The accessories include one or more diffraction elements, effective to receive the incoming beam and produce a plane of diverging laser beams. In preferred embodiments the diffraction elements are self-leveling. When the diverging beams are directed against a surface such as a floor, wall or ceiling, a series of discrete spots define a visible reference line useful in construction layout. The spots themselves may each locate the position of a fastener to be installed, for example, by giving the approximately correct spacing for reference of the user. In another embodiment, lenticular arrays are used to create beams which diverge in a plane and overlie one another to form a visible reference line on a wall or other surface. The line preferably is plumb or level and in one embodiment the user can select among two or more arrays to form a plumb or level line of selected length.
85 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method used in construction layout for producing and using a visible reference line on a surface, the line being substantially level or plumb, comprising:
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generating a visible laser beam, directing the laser beam through a lenticular array device having a lenticular array, the device having self-leveling means for maintaining the lenticular array in level or plumb orientation, directing the beam exiting the lenticular array device against said surface, thus producing a visible reference line which is substantially level or plumb on said surface, and using the resulting visible reference line on said surface as a reference in a construction procedure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for producing a visible reference line on a surface, formed from a laser beam, the reference line being substantially level or plumb in orientation, comprising:
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a laser instrument with means for generating a laser beam, a separate accessory including a lenticular array device positioned in the path of the laser beam such that the beam passes through the lenticular array device to produce a converging beam of light substantially within a plane, and the separate accessory including self-leveling means for retaining the lenticular array device in substantially level or plumb orientation, whereby the diverging beam from the accessory produces a substantially level or plumb reference line on the surface. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. An apparatus for producing from a laser beam a visible reference line on a surface, comprising:
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lenticular array means positioned to receive a laser beam from a laser source, for producing from the laser beam a plane of diverging laser light, and self-leveling means on the lenticular array means for maintaining the lenticular array means in substantially level or plumb orientation, whereby the diverging plane of laser light produces a substantially level or plumb reference line on a surface. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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Specification