Abstract:
A laser level disposable on a reference surface includes a housing, a laser diode disposed within the housing for emitting a laser beam along a path, a lens disposed in the path for converting the laser beam into a planar beam. The planar beam thus forms a line on the reference surface. The laser level also includes an electronic distance measurement circuit disposed within the housing for measuring distance. The distance measurement circuit including a display for showing the measured distance.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/277,474, filed Oct. 22, 2002, now pending, which in turn derives priority under 35 USC § 119(e) from U.S. Application Serial No. 60/384,673, filed on May 31, 2002. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    This invention relates generally to laser instruments and specifically to laser levels with additional non-leveling capabilities.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Laser levels have been used in construction for many years. They typically seek to produce a plane of light for a reference for construction projects. Laser levels have been used for large scale construction projects like commercial excavating, laying foundations, and installing drop ceilings. Laser levels save considerable time during initial layout of a construction job compared to other tools such as beam levels, chalk lines, or torpedo levels. Some examples of jobs where laser levels would be useful include laying tile, mounting cabinets, installing counter tops, and building outdoor decks.  
           [0004]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a laser level that is inexpensive and usable by the general public.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    In accordance with the present invention, an improved laser level is employed. The laser level disposable on a reference surface includes a housing, a first laser diode disposed within the housing for emitting a first laser beam along a first path, a lens disposed in the first path for converting the first laser beam into a first planar beam, the first planar beam forming a line on the reference surface, and an electronic distance measurement circuit disposed within the housing for measuring distance, said distance measurement circuit including a display for showing the measured distance.  
           [0006]    Additional features and benefits of the present invention are described, and will be apparent from, the accompanying drawings and the detailed description below. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention according to the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a laser level according to the invention;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the laser level of FIG. 1; and  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 illustrates a second embodiment of the laser level, where FIGS.  3 A- 3 B are perspective and cross-sectional views of the laser level, respectively. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0011]    The invention is now described with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein like numerals designate like parts. Referring to FIGS.  1 - 2 , a laser level  10  may have a housing  11 . The housing  11  may have a top portion  11 T and a bottom portion  11 B. The housing may also have a hole  12  extending through the housing  11 . The hole  12  preferably extends through the top portion  11 T. The perimeter of the hole  12  may be defined by an inner wall  11 I.  
         [0012]    The top portion  11 IT may carry a pendulum assembly  30 . Preferably, the pendulum assembly  30  has a main body  31 , which may be made of metal or plastic. Main body  31  may be disposed on a knife edge  11 IK. Knife edge  11 IK may be connected to and/or supported by inner wall  11 I. Alternatively, knife edge  11 IK may be connected to and/or supported by housing  11 . Persons skilled in the art will recognize that pendulum assembly  30  may be supported by means other than knife edge  11 IK, such as a pin, bearing, point or other pendulous means.  
         [0013]    The main body  31  may carry at least one laser assembly  40  and preferably two laser assemblies  40  disposed left and right of the knife edge  11 IK. Persons skilled in the art will recognize that a laser assembly  40  may disposed above knife edge  11 IK. Persons skilled in the art will also recognize that the laser assemblies  40  will emit laser beams. Accordingly, it is preferable to provide housing  11  with windows  13  to allow the laser beams to exit from housing  11 .  
         [0014]    Persons skilled in the art will recognize that such arrangement will provide a self-leveling pendulum assembly that will emit substantially horizontal laser beams (and a substantially vertical laser beam if a laser assembly  40  is disposed above knife edge  11 IK and is directed upwardly) when laser level  10  is disposed against a wall. Persons skilled in the art will also recognize that it is preferable to allow laser assembly  40  to be angularly adjusted along a vertical plane relative to main body  31 , to ensure that the projected laser beam is substantially horizontal when the main body  31  is at its stationary position.  
         [0015]    Persons skilled in the art should refer to U.S. application Ser. Nos. 10/277,474 and 60/384,673, which are wholly incorporated herein by reference, for further information on such laser level, adjustment methods, etc.  
         [0016]    Referring to FIGS.  1 - 2 , main body  31  may also have weights  33  to provide a lower center of gravity, and enhance the performance of the pendulum assembly  30 . In addition, main body  31  may have at least one adjustment screw  33 A to adjust the center of gravity of pendulum assembly  30 , as necessary.  
         [0017]    Main body  31  may also have a plaque  33 M, made of magnetic material, ferrous material or non-ferrous conductive material, such as zinc or copper. Plaque  33 M preferably is aligned with at least one magnet (and preferably two magnets) disposed in housing  11 , e.g., on the inside of the front and rear walls of housing  11 , for providing a damping action on pendulum assembly  30 . Basically, eddie currents are generated within plaque  33 M, as the plaque moves and interacts with the magnetic field supplied by the magnet(s).  
         [0018]    Persons skilled in the art shall recognize that pendulum assembly  30  is preferably wholly contained within housing  11 . However, the pendulum assembly  30  may be at least partly, if not completely, disposed outside of housing  11 .  
         [0019]    Persons skilled in the art shall recognize that a damping mechanism for damping the motion of pendulum assembly  30  may be provided. Persons skilled in the art are directed to the damping mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,487, which is wholly incorporated by reference herein, as well as to its equivalents.  
         [0020]    The bottom portion  11 B of housing  11  may carry a battery  50  for powering the laser assemblies  40 . In addition, the bottom portion  11 B may carry a stud sensor circuit  20 . The circuitry of the stud sensor circuit  20  is not illustrated herein. Persons skilled in the art are referred to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,099,118 and 4,464,622, which are wholly incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0021]    As is well known in the art, the stud sensor circuit  20  may include an on/off actuator or switch  21 , which can be a push-button type actuator. Stud sensor circuit  20  may also include light emitting diodes  22  to display the location of a stud.  
         [0022]    It is preferable to align the sensors within stud sensor circuit  20  with the center of hole  12 , so that the center of hole  12  indicates the location of the stud.  
         [0023]    Persons skilled in the art should recognize that detector circuits other than stud sensor circuit  20  may be provided in laser level  10 . Preferably, these detector circuits can detect features underneath a surface, such as a wall or floor. These features may include pipes or wires. Circuits for pipe and wire detectors, as well as other detector circuits, are well known in the art.  
         [0024]    The housing  11  may be formed from a hard impact resistant, preferably moldable material such as a hard thermoplastic material such as ABS or polystyrene. It is preferable to provide a grip  14  on bottom portion  11 B. Grip  14  may be made of a soft or low durometer thermoplastic elastomer. In addition, grip  14  can be formed from any of the so-called “soft-touch” elastomer materials, such as those sold under the tradenames “Santoprene”, “Kraton” and “Monprene,” and are preferably adhered or overmolded to the housing  11 .  
         [0025]    The bottom portion  11 B may also carry an electronic distance measuring circuit  60 . The circuitry of the distance measuring circuit  60  is not illustrated herein. Persons skilled in the art will know that there are two main types of electronic distance measuring systems: those which are laser-based and those which are sound-based. Persons skilled in the art are referred to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,097,148, 5,262,837, 5,455,669, 5,638,163, 5,949,530, and 6,057,910, which are wholly incorporated herein by reference, which disclose laser-based electronic distance measuring systems. Similarly, persons skilled in the art are referred to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,451,909,4,464,738, and 4,910,717, which are wholly incorporated herein by reference, which disclose sound-based electronic distance measuring systems.  
         [0026]    As is typical in electronic distance measuring systems, a sound or laser transmitter  61  is placed in housing  11 . The transmitter  61  sends a signal, which contacts the target and bounces back towards the laser level  10 . This signal is received by a sound or laser receiver  62  placed in housing  11 . The distance measuring circuit  60  processes the data and calculates the distance, as is well known in the art. The calculated distance can then be displayed on a display  63  disposed on housing  11 .  
         [0027]    Referring to FIG. 2, laser assemblies  40  are disposed on main body  31 . Laser assembly  40  may include a substantially cylindrical barrel  41 , which may be adjustably connected to main body  31 , laser diode  42  disposed in barrel  41 , and a line lens  43  disposed in barrel  41 . Persons skilled in the art will recognize that in the preferred embodiment, adjusting barrel  41  will result in moving laser diode  42  and line lens  43 . In addition, persons skilled in the art will recognize that a collimating lens may be disposed between laser diode  42  and line lens  43 . Preferably, line lens  43  converts the laser beam exiting laser diode  42  into a planar beam.  
         [0028]    Accordingly, when laser level  10  is disposed against a wall, laser assembly  40  will preferably emit a laser plane that contacts the wall, forming a laser line on the wall. Persons skilled in the art will recognize that it is preferable to orient the laser assemblies  40  in such manner so that at least a portion of the laser plane will contact the wall. In addition, persons skilled in the art will recognize that providing laser assemblies  40  on the pendulum assembly  30  discussed above will preferably result in laser level  10  projecting substantially horizontal laser lines against the wall (and a substantially vertical laser beam if a laser assembly  40  is disposed above knife edge  11 IK and is directed upwardly).  
         [0029]    A second embodiment of laser level  10  is shown in FIG. 3, where like numerals refer to like parts. The teachings of the first embodiment above are wholly incorporated by reference in the present embodiment. Like before, laser level  10  has laser assemblies  40  for projecting laser beams, preferably in the form of planes. Furthermore, laser level  10  has a stud sensor circuit  20 .  
         [0030]    Laser level  10  may also have an electronic distance measuring circuit  60  as in the previous embodiment.  
         [0031]    In this embodiment, the main difference is that the laser assemblies  40  are not disposed on a pendulum. Instead, they are fixedly connected to housing  11 . Accordingly, the user can disposed housing  11  at any position against a wall or floor, and two laser lines will be emitted unto the wall or floor.  
         [0032]    A horizontal bubble vial  11 HV may be provided on housing  11  to indicate to the user when the laser beams are level, i.e., substantially horizontal. Similarly, a vertical bubble vial  11 VV may be provided on housing  11  to indicate to the user when the laser beams are plumb, i.e., substantially vertical. Persons skilled in the art will recognize that other means for detecting and indicating whether the laser beams are plumb or level can be used. In addition, persons skilled in the art will recognize that it may be preferable to dispose at least one laser assembly  40  at 90° from another laser assembly  40 , to emit a perpendicular laser beam or line.  
         [0033]    Persons skilled in the art may recognize other additions or alternatives to the means disclosed herein. However, all these additions and/or alterations are considered to be equivalents of the present invention.