PLUMB INDICATOR

Abstract: A plumb indicator wherein a float is housed in a vessel containing liquid, the vessel is supported by an external support frame, a doughnut-shaped magnet is integrally mounted on the outer surface of the bottom end portion of the float, a plumb supporting bar is connected to the forward end of the external support frame at a hinge joint point, another inverted umbrella-shaped doughnut-like magnet is mounted on the top at the upper end of this plumb supporting bar, the both magnets are set in reversed polarity to repulse from each other and held at a predetermined interval, the top of the plumb supporting bar is inserted into the internal space of the vessel disposed thereabove, and the plumb supporting bar is held vertically at a specified position at the lower portion of the support frame by a repulsing magnetic force between the doughnut-shaped magnet of the float spaced apart from the top through a space and the inverted umbrella-shaped magnet provided on the top of the plumb supporting bar.

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a vertical indicator unit comprising a vessel containing a liquid and a float therein according to the preamble of claim 1. BACKGROUND ART As a prior vertical indicator unit, it has been known "a measuring pole comprising an exterior pipe, an interior pipe pole connected to the inner lower portion of the exterior pipe by freely rotatable ball joint coupling, and a liquid filled in an allowance portion between the exterior pipe and the interior pipe pole, so as to secure completely verticality of the interior pipe pole" (Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 60-131,420). (See Fig. 5.) This measuring pole fills a liquid between the exterior pipe and the interior pipe pole, but does not hermetically seal the open end thereof, so that there is such as disadvantage that the pole cannot be laid horizontally for storage. As shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 61-274,639, it has also been known "a vertical indicating float comprising a vessel containing a liquid therein, and a base-open type float vessel connected to the lower end of a pole portion of the liquid-containing vessel by a vertical supporting rod with allowance for the inner wall of said pole portion, thereby lowering an atmospheric pressure of an upper chamber of the vessel and raising an atmospheric pressure of an inner chamber of the said float vessel, so as to produce buoyance in an imaginary space including apparatuses in the float vessel" (ref. Fig. 6). In this float, a liquid is filled in an upper vessel of a supporting frame, a bottom-open type float vessel inserted into said upper vessel is floated on the liquid of the upper vessel of the supporting frame, the bottom-open type float vessel is connected to an inner lower end portion of the supporting frame by a vertical supporting rod and connecting rod or cord, the liquid is filled up to the imaginary water surface, the supporting frame is hermetically sealed by sealing plug means, and a gas is filled in an upper chamber of the supporting frame with pressure from the sealing plug means, thereby generating a differential level on the water surface in the float vessel and the water surface in the vessel of the frame, and standing the supporting frame for attracting the float within allowance, so as to obtain a vertical indicating line in the connecting rod or cord connected between the float and the lower end of supporting frame. This float type vertical indicating pole unit has a shortcoming that it takes a long time to obtain a vertical indicating line, and if the supporting frame is laid horizontally, the open upper end of the pole portion of the supporting frame warps or makes errors in the vertical supporting mechanism by the movement of liquid from the upper vessel to the float vessel or the pole portion of the supporting frame, thereby implying that liquid filling and gas filling with pressure should be started again. The prior vertical measuring pole by means of a float was inconvenient by housing an indicating portion within a vertical indicating pole portion of the frame vessel for hermetically sealing a liquid. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is to obviate the aforementioned shortcoming of a vertical indicator or a vertical indicating pole means of float type in the prior art. Said object is achieved by a vertical indicator unit having the features of claim 1. The present invention is an improvement for eliminating maintenance and management expenses of liquid by keeping a certain space between the float portion and the vertical indicating rod head portion by repulsion of the magnets so as to keep verticality, and by floating the float portion by separately sealing in the vessel. BRIEF DESRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are horizontal cross-sectional views of a vertical indicator unit according to the invention; Fig. 4 is a partially vertical cross-sectional view of the vertical indicator unit according to present invention, whilst Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate prior art indicator units. Throughout different views of the drawings, BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a vertical indicator unit by holding a float within a vessel with a liquid and magnets, reversely polarizing a magnet of a vertical indicating rod head portion held in the space within the vessel and a magnet of the float, floating the head portion of the vertical indicating rod in the space within the vessel by diamagnetism of both magnets, and indicating said rod verticality. The invention will be explained referring to the accompanying drawings. A vessel 2 is fixed at the upper portion of a supporting frame 1 and a liquid 3 is filled in the vessel 2. In the inside of the vessel is hermetically sealed a float 4 integrally secured with a toroidal-shaped magnet 5 at the lower portion thereof. A vertical indicating rod 8 is provided which contacts and vertically stands at a setting portion 7 and a hinge contact point 7A is provided at a wedge-like position 6A of a fixed point 6. A funnel-like magnet 9 is mounted on an upper end head portion 8A of the vertical indicating rod 8. The toroidal-shaped magnet 5 of the float portion 4 and the magnet 9 provided in the head portion 8A of the vertical indicating rod 8 are arranged to face each other with a certain air space 2A and are reversely polarized. The head portion 8A of the vertical indicating rod 8 is floated in a space 2A within the vessel 2. A tripod 10 is secured to the upper portion of said supporting frame 1, and a relative position is determined within an allowance width 11 by the tripod 10 and said supporting frame 1. Thus the whole mechanism including a supporting frame 1 and a vertical indicating rod is set. In the above vertical indicator unit, the float 4 is separated from the vessel 2 by a predetermined distance filled with a liquid. Buoyancy of the float 4 is indirectly transmitted by repulsion of the magnet 5 of the float and the magnet 9 of the head portion of the vertical indicating rod, and the floating condition is held in air as an integral construction, so that the vertical indicating rod 8 is automatically vertically held by diamagnetic repulsion of the magnet 5 of the float 4 and the magnet 9 of the head portion of the vertical indicating rod. Moreover, air is sealed in the space 2A between the float 4 and the head portion 2 in Fig. 4, so that buoyancy of the float 4 becomes large, and even if water is sealed therein, the float 4 can maintain the verticality of the vertical indicating rod 8 by water buoyance and the diamagnetic repulsion of both magnets 5 and 9. In Fig. 4, 12 is a waterproof receiving antenna chip provided by projecting to the upper portion of the float, and 13 is a ground electric wave buffer plate provided on the float correspondingly. Reference numeral 14 is a corner prism reflecting mirror secured at a suitable gravity position of the vertical indicating rod 8. As described above, when the corner prism reflecting mirror 14 is secured at a suitable position on the vertical indicating rod 8 according to the invention, as the time when the vertical indicating rod as a measuring pole is held vertically, if an optical axis of the reflecting mirror 14 is made horizontal, even if a beam of light deviated from the water level by 10°-15° viewing a prism by a photometer (not shown) from a long distance is projected, a precise light wave survey can be possible. Moreover, if a projection 4A is provided at the upper portion of the float and a waterproof receiving antenna chip 12 is provided, the chip 12 can be used as a receiving antenna chip for measuring differential Groval Positioning System (GPS), and the vertical indicating rod 8 is also used as a receiving antenna and can be used as a measuring pole for two-frequency GPS (Groval Positioning System) superfine multifunctional measure. As explained above, the present invention has no fear of water leak as in the prior float-type vertical indicated unit as simple in maintenance and use, cheap in cost, and precise in measurement.

Claims: A vertical indicator unit for measurement comprising a liquid-filled, reverse cup-shaped vessel (2) having an outer wall and an inner wall, with the inner wall delimiting a chamber open to the surroundings, a float (4) floating within the vessel (2), a vertical indicating rod head portion (8A) projecting into said chamber, a vertical indicating rod (8) secured to a lower portion of said head portion (8A), and an external supporting frame (1) secured to said vessel (2), characterized in that said vessel (2) is hermetically sealed; in that a funnel-like, toroidal-shaped magnet (5) is provided secured to the lower end of the float and surrounding said chamber at the lower portion of the vessel (2) and a funnel-like toroidal magnet (9) is provided on said vertical indicating rod head portion substantially coaxial with, and positioned above the lower end of, said toroidal shaped magnet (5); in that the vertical indicating rod (8) is connected to one end of the external supporting frame (1) by a hinge contact (7A), and in that the magnet (9) provided at the head portion (8A) of the upper end of said vertical indicating rod (8) and the toroidal magnet (5) provided on said float (4) are reversely polarized and repulsively held from each other at a certain spacing such that the vertical indicating rod is vertically held with respect to a predetermined position of the lower portion of the external supporting frame by indirectly transmitting buoyancy of the float portion (12,13,4,5) to the vertical indicating rod head portion (8A,9) by repulsion of said magnets (5,9). A vertical indicator unit for measurement as defined in claim 1, wherein a corner prism reflecting miror (14) is secured to said vertical indicating rod (8) at an intermediate position thereon. A vertical indicator unit for measurement as defined in claim 1, wherein a waterproof receiving antenna chip (12) is provided at a projection (4a) on an upper portion of the float (4) so as to face a portion (2B) of the upper portion of said vessel (2).

Inventors: UKAWA FUKUJIRO, UKAWA, FUKUJIRO
Applicants: KITO KOEI KK, KABUSHIKI KAISHA KITO KOEI
Application year: 1991
Main classification: G01C9
IPC codes: G01C15, G01C9