Apparatus for producing a visible line of light on a surface, particularly a wall
AssigneeTrimble Navigation Limited
InventorGary Goodrich
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus and method for efficiently generating a visible line of light on a surface such as a wall or a floor for the purpose of facilitating the layout process used in construction. Reference marking elements on the instrument correspond to the light beam's position. One or more level vials may be included for indicating vertical and horizontal, as well as a magnet for mounting and a reference bracket for a stud-finder instrument. In one embodiment the instrument is self-leveling on one axis only and is useful for projecting one or more orthogonal lines on a wall surface. The instrument, self-leveling or not, can be combined with a stud finder.
Claims13
A method for producing a line of laser light on a surface, comprising:
- positioning a laser diode, of the type that produces an oblong beam diverging unequally in wide and narrow angles of divergence along two perpendicular axes, a long axis and a short axis, at a position spaced away from a surface on which a reference line is to be projected, and
- focusing the laser beam to converge the beam in the narrow angle of divergence on said short axis, to bring the beam into approximate focus along a line on said surface,
- whereby the wide angle of divergence of the laser diode's beam in the long axis is used to generate a line on the surface, in a simple and efficient optical system.
A method for producing a line of laser light on a wall surface and highlighting the position of a wall stud, comprising:
- providing a laser instrument that includes a laser diode and optics receiving light from the laser diode and producing a fan-shaped beam of light from the instrument, oriented such that a plane in which the fan-shaped beam generally is positioned is generally perpendicular to a base of the instrument, the base being adapted to engage against a wall surface, and with a stud finder attached to the laser instrument, in a position such that the fan of light produced by the instrument is aligned with an indicator on the stud finder showing the location of a wall stud, and
- placing the instrument and attached stud finder against a substantially vertical wall, moving the instrument and stud finder to locate a wall stud inside the wall, and, with the instrument projecting the fan-shaped beam substantially vertically, indicating with a line produced by the beam a protracted length of the stud in the wall.
A laser instrument for producing a line on a wall surface, comprising:
- a housing having a base side and having an exit window for a laser beam,
- a laser diode in the housing producing a laser beam, and optics in the path of the beam to generate a generally fan-shaped output beam oriented such that a plane essentially including the fan-shaped beam is generally perpendicular to the housing base side such that the output beam produces a line on a surface on which the base side is placed,
- single-axis self-leveling means in the housing for compensating for small tilt angles of the housing as the housing is positioned with the base side against a wall to thus correct the output beam to substantially level or plumb, said small tilt angles being due to slight rotation of the housing from truly level or plumb in the plane of the wall surface, the instrument being without self-leveling tilt compensation in a plane perpendicular to the wall surface, and
- a stud finder attached to the instrument's housing, the stud finder having an indicator to show the location of a wall stud in a wall,
- whereby with the base side of the instrument against the wall surface the instrument is sufficiently close to level and plumb in a vertical plane perpendicular to the wall surface, and the single-axis self-leveling means substantially corrects for any tilt of the instrument in the plane of the wall surface, and whereby the instrument with the stud finder can be placed on the wall at the location of a stud and a plumb or level line can be projected onto the wall surface.
A laser instrument for producing a line on a wall surface comprising:
- a housing having a base side and having an exit window for a laser beam,
- a laser diode in the housing producing a laser beam, and optics in the path of the beam to generate a generally fan-shaped output beam oriented such that a plane essentially including the fan-shaped beam is generally perpendicular to the housing base side such that the output beam produces a line on a surface on which the base side is placed, and
- leveling means in the housing for orienting the housing substantially level or plumb in the plane of the wall when the housing is placed against the wall surface, so that the output beam is substantially level or plumb, and
- a stud finder attached to the instrument's housing, the stud finder having an indicator to show the location of a wall stud in a wall.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.