Patent Application
20070245580
1. Field of the Invention
This invention provides apparatus to establish the orientation of vertical structures with respect to a horizontal plane to assist in their vertical installation using a single observation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Installation of vertical elements often requires that some of the elements have a vertical orientation to conform to other elements of a structure. To establish vertical orientation two separate horizontal axis measurement are currently required. A common example is the installation of a vertical pipe. This will be described as an example although the same apparatus can be used with only minor modifications on any structural element which must be installed in a vertical orientation. Establishing vertical orientation of a pipe is presently accomplished by using a bubble level to establish each axis separately. Quite often after the first axis is measured, measuring the second axis will change the orientation of the element with respect to the first axis. This results either in an incorrect orientation of the element or repeated measurements of the two separate axes by a single level indicator to obtain the correct orientation. It would be desirable if two axes could be observed simultaneously with respect to horizontal to eliminate this problem.
A level with two level indicators is provided. The indicators are mounted within a base perpendicular to each other, The perpendicularity of the first and second bubble level indicators provides a means for simultaneously observing whether a plane, perpendicular to a particular element in a structure, is horizontal. The first level indicator can be mounted in a convention manner in the base of the level, while the second level indicator can be arranged to be rotated outward from the body of the level to an orientation perpendicular to the first bubble indicator to provide the same planar capability. This arrangement minimizes the possibility of damage to the outwardly extending indicator, since it can be stored within the body of the level except during observation.
To facilitate alignment of the level with respect to the structure to be measured, the base can have a groove extending along its length sized to mate with part of a vertical portion of the side of an element whose verticality is to be measured. As mentioned earlier, quite often this element is a pipe, which will be used in the following discussion. The groove is a recess which is shaped and sized to mate with at least a portion of an outer surface of the pipe to be oriented vertically. With this arrangement placing the groove against the pipe will provide a predetermined orientation of the base with respect to the pipe. Here the level indicators are arranged to measure the horizontal orientation of a plane when the base has the predetermined orientation with respect to the selected portion of the pipe. Here, with the pipe oriented parallel to the recess, a horizontal orientation of both of the indicators will result in a vertical orientation of the pipe. The base can have a clamp arranged to clamp the base against the pipe to eliminate the necessity of the user holding the level against the element while making a level observation. The clamp can be either a portion of the apparatus or can be temporarily attached when a measurement is to be made. If desired, without providing a clamp it is feasible to simply place the apparatus against the structure with the groove enclosing a predetermined portion of the structure, and hold the apparatus in place while making the observation.
The objects and features of the present invention will become more manifest to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following descriptions, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and wherein:
Base 14 can be held in place against pipe 12 with recess 14d adjacent to pipe 12 either simply by hand or by spring loaded clamp 16. Clamp 16 has a first part 16a and a second part 16b. First part 16a is attached to base 14. Pin 16c extending through mating holes in first part 16a and second part 16b of clamp 16 provides pivoting freedom between the parts. A spring 16d is arranged to secure parts 16a and 16b together and also to urge the inner sides of the outer ends of first part 16a and second part 16b together to partially encircle pipe 12 and securely hold base 14 against the pipe. Second part 16b includes a handle 16e extending outwardly opposite to first part 16a. Handle 16e provides leverage to separate the ends of first part 16a and second part 16b of clamp 16 for attaching or removing base 14 and pipe 12.
Base 14 has rectangular shaped openings 14e and 14f extending along axis 14b through the base. First level indicator 18 is mounted within opening 14f and is aligned with axis 14a to measure the orientation of this axis with respect to level, arranged such that the indicator can be read from either side of the indicator.
Second level indicator 20 is mounted within pivoting apparatus, which consists of a frame 20a and a pivot 20b, with the indicator positioned within the frame. Pivot 20b provides pivoting freedom between frame 20 and opening 14e in base 14. As shown in
This apparatus provides a simple way to determine the orientation of a pipe's verticality. As discussed earlier, it is presently necessary to make two separate and independent measurements to determine the orientation of a pipe with respect to two horizontal axes. This is subject to error and requires additional time to accomplish. Here the apparatus is simply placed adjacent to the pipe by hand, or it can be clamped to the pipe by a spring loaded clamp, such that the concave shaped recess is adjacent to the pipe. This provides proper orientation for a simultaneous two axis observation of the vertical orientation of the pipe. The ability to pivot one of the indicators into the base reduces its chances of injury during storage, and the fact that both indicators can be read from either side simplifies a simultaneous observation. The simplicity of use and the ability to make a simultaneous observation of a plane perpendicular to an element improves the accuracy and reduces the time required to perform the task. As described, the clamp need not be a permanent part of the apparatus, and the observation can also be made by simply holding the apparatus against the pipe while making an observation.
While the discussion is directed to a pipe because of the common requirement to orient some of the pipes vertically within a structure, this apparatus is not limited to pipes. A large number of structural elements require vertical orientation in order to operate properly or to look appropriate within a structure. Using this apparatus with other structural elements merely requires locating an element which should be vertical, and aligning the appropriate axis of the level with this element using an appropriately shaped recess arranged to mate with a predetermined portion of the element. An appropriately sized and shaped recess and an optional clamp, which need not be a permanent part of the apparatus, can be adapted to a variety of structural elements to provide the same assistance in determining their vertical orientation the same as that described for orientating a pipe vertically.
While only one embodiment of this apparatus has been described in detail, there are numerous modifications and changes that are possible for other structural elements, and would readily occur to one skilled in the art. While a bubble level has been described here, this is not the only kind of level that could be used, essentially any level that will permit determining the relationship of two axis of the level with respect to horizontal will suffice.
Changes may be made in details, particularly in matters of shape, size, material, and arrangement of parts without exceeding the scope of the invention. It should be understood therefore that this disclosure, in many respects, is only illustrative. Therefore it is contemplated that the appended claims will cover any such modifications or embodiments that fall within the true scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is as defined in the language of the appended claims.
