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US 11,541,684 B2Granted
Chalk line marking apparatus
AssigneeInnovations Specific, Inc.
InventorsJerome Charles Hanley, Duane Neil Genzlinger
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed is a chalk line marking apparatus having an ambidextrous trigger. The trigger has an angled cord cavity channel that directs a marking cord in a downward direction so that the marking cord is flush with a surface to be marked.
Claims24
A chalk line marking apparatus comprising:
- a left housing;
- a right housing coupled to said left housing, said left housing and said right housing forming a chalk cavity when joined together;
- a handle comprising a handle base and at least one handle knuckle;
- a crank comprising an angled shaft and at least one crank knuckle;
- a pin hingedly connecting said at least one handle knuckle and said at least one crank knuckle so that said handle base is configured to rotate about said crank;
- a spool configured to hold a marking cord;
- an axle comprising an angled left cavity that mates with said angled shaft of said crank and is secured to said crank by a crank screw;
- a clutch that allows said marking cord to be unwound from said spool;
- a trigger comprising a trigger bottom, a trigger actuator, a front trigger flange, a rear trigger flange, a trigger shaft, a cord entry aperture, a cord cavity located on said trigger bottom, and an angled cord cavity channel that extends at an angle between said cord cavity aperture and said cord cavity;
- a trigger spring having one end disposed on said trigger shaft, and an opposite end of said trigger spring disposed on a spring stop shaft located on said left housing, wherein said trigger spring is configured to bias said trigger in a downward direction towards a surface to be marked so that said chalk line marking apparatus marks a chalk line on a surface.
7 more elements
A method of using a chalk line marking apparatus comprising:
- allowing a marking cord inside of said chalk line marking apparatus to be covered with powdered chalk contained in a chalk cavity formed by a right side housing and a left side housing;
- pulling said marking cord from a marking cord cavity using a clutch that allows a spool, wound with said marking cord, to rotate and unwind from said spool, said marking cord cavity located on a bottom side of a trigger;
- moving said marking cord, as said marking cord is pulled from said marking cord cavity, through an angled cord cavity channel through a trigger at a downward angle so that said marking cord exits said trigger from said cord cavity, located at a bottom side of said trigger, at a downward angle that ensures that said marking cord contacts a marking surface;
- lifting a trigger actuator of a trigger against a bias created by a trigger spring so that a front trigger flange moves along a left side front trigger channel and a right side front trigger channel, and a rear trigger flange moves along a left rear trigger channel and a right side rear trigger channel of a left housing and a right housing;
- moving a trigger neck along a trigger slot located between said left housing and said right housing by said lifting said trigger actuator;
- releasing said trigger actuator so that said trigger spring forces said trigger and said marking cord downwardly towards a surface to be marked so that said cord is flush with said surface.
3 more elements
A method of making a chalk line marking apparatus comprising:
- passing a marking cord from a spool through a first passage housing and a second passage housing of said chalk line marking apparatus;
- passing said marking cord through a cord entry aperture on a trigger, through an angled cord cavity channel on said trigger, and out of said angled cord cavity channel on a bottom portion of said trigger that ensures that said marking cord contacts a surface to be marked and creates an accurate chalk line mark on said surface to be marked when said trigger is actuated;
- providing trigger guides on said chalk line marking apparatus that allow said trigger to move said marking cord and compress a trigger spring so that said marking cord is snapped against said surface to be marked when said trigger is released.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.