Abstract:
A spirit type level that may be used to plumb any vertical pole or post, may be used to horizontally set an object and may also be used to quickly and easily set a pipe at a selected slope of between 0 and 3 percent. The spirit type level of the invention includes a plurality of differently oriented spirit vials that are secured within the level body in a manner such that, if any one of the spirit vials become broken, or otherwise damaged, it can be easily replaced and the level need not be discarded. The spirit type level of the invention can be quickly and easily removably attached to the object to be leveled thereby freeing the hands of the user to position the object.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not Applicable 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC 
       [0003]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0005]    The present invention relates generally to tools used in the construction industry. More particularly, the invention concerns a specially designed spirit level for use by plumbers having replaceable spirit vials and including a novel connector mechanism for releasably connecting the level to the structure to be leveled. 
         [0006]    2. Discussion of the Prior Art 
         [0007]    Spirit levels of various designs have been suggested in the past and are widely used by construction workers to determine the orientation of a particular structure or surface with respect to a reference axis. A typical spirit level generally comprises an elongated body that has a pair of opposing, generally parallel working surfaces and includes a plurality of openings having spirit vials permanently secured therein. The spirit vials are typically aligned in different directions relative to the working surfaces and function to indicate the orientation of a structure. For example, one vial may be aligned in a direction perpendicular to the working surfaces, another may be aligned in a direction parallel to the working surfaces and a third may be aligned in an angular direction. Typically, the vial contains a fluid and a spirit, and the user views the position of the spirit within the vial to determine the position of the tool relative to the working surfaces. 
         [0008]    A novel and highly useful level construction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,536,798 issued to the present inventor. This patent, which is entitled “Multiple Angle Compact Spirit Level”, describes a level with a generally U-shaped or round, rigid frame. The outer surface of the level is comprised of a number of planar reference faces that are at different fixed angles with respect to the spirit vial mounted within the frame 
         [0009]    Another useful level construction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,802,372 also issued to the present inventor. This patent, which is entitled “Removable Laser Base Attachment for Spirit Levels”, describes a spirit level that includes a body, a laser beam generator, and a removable securement. The body has a flat top surface that the level is secured to and a bottom surface that is flat and parallel to the top surface. A laser diode mounted in a module emits a visible laser beam upon application of power from a battery that is controlled by a switch. The module, batteries, and switch are mounted in a through bore in the body. The laser base is removably secured to the spirit level by any manner appropriate to the shape of the level. In one such securement, the level has a T-shaped cross-section and the body has a complementary slot into which the level slides. When the level reference surface abuts the top surface of the laser base, a thumb screw is tightened to frictionally secure the level in the base. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a generally perspective view of one form of the plumber&#39;s level of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a rear view of the plumber&#39;s level shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a left side elevational view of the plumber&#39;s level shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a right side elevational view of the plumber&#39;s level shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the plumber&#39;s level shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a bottom plan view of the plumber&#39;s level shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is an exploded front view, partly broken way to show internal construction of the plumber&#39;s level shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is a generally perspective, illustrative view showing the plumber&#39;s level of the invention being used to level a length of pipe with zero percent slope. 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is a generally perspective, illustrative view showing the plumber&#39;s level of the invention being used to level a length of pipe with a 1 percent slope. 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  is a generally perspective, illustrative view showing the plumber&#39;s level of the invention being used to level a length of pipe with a 2 percent slope. 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  is a generally perspective, illustrative view showing the plumber&#39;s level of the invention being used to level a length of pipe with a 3 percent slope. 
       
    
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0021]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a spirit type level that may be used to plumb any vertical pole, post, or pipe, may be used to horizontally set an object and may also be used to quickly and easily set a pipe at a selected percent of slope to create a liquid flow at a desired slope. 
         [0022]    It is another object of the invention to provide a spirit level of the aforementioned character that can be quickly and easily removably attached to the object to be leveled thereby freeing the hands of the user to position the object. 
         [0023]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a spirit type level of the character described in the preceding paragraphs that includes a plurality of differently oriented spirit vials that are secured within the level body in a manner such that, if any one of the spirit vials become broken, or otherwise damaged, it can be easily replaced and the level need not be discarded. 
         [0024]    Another object of the invention is to provide a spirit type level of the afore mentioned character in which the spirit vials are securely held in position within threaded chambers formed in the level body by easily removable threaded cap screws. 
         [0025]    Still another object of the invention is to provide a spirit type level of the class described in which the various surfaces of the level are provided with a longitudinally extending, generally V-shaped groove that functions to precisely, longitudinally align the level with the longitudinal axis of cylindrical work pieces. 
         [0026]    Still another object of the invention is to provide a spirit type level as described in the preceding paragraphs that includes a plurality of longitudinally spaced magnets that are connected to the various surfaces of the level so as to permit the level to be conveniently, removably connected to any ferrous structure that is being leveled. 
         [0027]    These and other objects of the invention will be realized by the level construction illustrated in the drawings and described in the paragraphs that follow. 
       DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0028]    Referring to the drawings and particularly to  FIGS. 1 through 7 , one form of the level of the invention for determining the orientation of a structure is there shown and generally designated by the numeral  14 . Level  14  here comprises a body  16  having a central portion  18  and first, second, third and fourth work piece engaging surfaces  20 ,  22 ,  24  and  26  respectively. As illustrated in  FIGS. 3 through 6  of the drawings, in one form of the level of the invention each of the work piece engaging surfaces can be, provided with a longitudinally extending, generally “V” shaped groove designated in the drawings respectively as  20   a ,  22   a ,  24   a  and  26   a . With this construction, when the level is used in conjunction with pipes and the like, such as is illustrated in  FIGS. 8 through 11  of the drawings, the grooves will function to positively align the longitudinal axis of the level with the longitudinal axis of the pipe. 
         [0029]    As depicted in  FIG. 7  of the drawings, central portion  18  includes a first vial chamber  30  having an axial centerline  30   a , a threaded opening  30   b  and a threaded connector, shown here as a threaded setscrew  32 , that is removably mounted within the threaded opening and is adapted for rotational movement along the axial centerline  30   a . Similarly, central portion  18  includes a second vial chamber  34  having a generally vertically extending, axial centerline  34   a , a threaded opening  34   b  and a threaded connector, shown here as a threaded setscrew  36 , that is removably mounted within the threaded opening and is adapted for rotational movement along the axial centerline  34   a . Removably mounted within first vial chamber  30  is a first spirit vial  38  having a longitudinal center line  38   a  that is axially aligned with the axial centerline  30   a  of first vial chamber  30 . As best seen by referring to  FIG. 1 , the first work piece engaging surface  20  of body  16  disposed within a generally horizontal reference plane  40  and the longitudinal center line  38   a  of the first spirit vial  38  resides in a first plane that is substantially parallel to horizontal reference plane  40 . 
         [0030]    For a purpose presently to be described, the second work piece engaging surface  22  of body  16  is uniquely disposed within a second plane  42  that extends downwardly at a first acute angle of approximately 1 percent with respect to a horizontal reference plane that is shown in  FIG. 1  in dotted lines and designated as  40   a . Reference plane  40   a  is substantially parallel to horizontal reference plane  40 . 
         [0031]    Removably mounted within second vial chamber  34  is a second spirit vial  44  having a longitudinal center line  44   a  that is axially aligned with the axial centerline  34   a  of second vial chamber  34  (see  FIG. 7 ). As best seen by referring to  FIG. 1 , the third work piece engaging surface  24  of body  16  disposed within a third plane  46  that slopes inwardly at a second acute angle of approximately 2 percent with respect to a substantially vertical reference plane that is shown in  FIG. 1  in dotted lines located proximate the left side of  FIG. 1  and is identified as  48 . As indicated in  FIG. 1 , the longitudinal center line  34   a  of the second vial  44  resides in a plane that is substantially parallel to substantially vertical reference plane  48 . As indicated in  FIG. 2 , third work piece engaging surface  24  extends from the first work piece engaging surface  20  at an angle of approximately 88.28 degrees. 
         [0032]    The fourth work piece engaging surface  26  of body  16  disposed within a fourth plane  50  that slopes inwardly at a third acute angle of approximately 3 percent with respect to a substantially vertical, reference plane that is shown in  FIG. 1  in dotted lines located proximate the right side of  FIG. 1  and is identified as  48   a . Plane  48   a  is substantially parallel to substantially vertical reference plane  48 . As indicated in  FIG. 1 , the longitudinal center line  34   a  of the second vial  44  resides in a plane that is substantially parallel to substantially vertical, reference plane  48  and by definition to plane  48   a . As seen in  FIG. 2  of the drawings, fourth work piece engaging surface  26  extends from first work piece engaging surface  20  at an angle of approximately 88.85 degrees. As also indicated in  FIG. 2 , second work piece engaging surface  22  extends from fourth work piece engaging surface  26  at an angle of approximately 90.58 degrees and extends from third work piece engaging surface  24  at an angle of approximately 92.29 degrees. 
         [0033]    As depicted in  FIG. 7  of the drawings, central portion  18  also includes a third vial chamber  54  having an axial centerline  54   a , a threaded opening  54   b  and a threaded connector, shown here as a threaded setscrew  56 , that is removably mounted within the threaded opening and is adapted for rotational movement along the axial centerline  54   a . Removably mounted within third vial chamber  54  is a third spirit vial  58  having a longitudinal center line  58   a  that is axially aligned with the axial centerline  54   a  of third vial chamber  54 . As illustrated in the drawings, the longitudinal centerline  58   a  of third spirit vial  58  extends at an angle of approximately 45 degrees with respect to work engaging surface  20  and with respect to first reference plane  40 . 
         [0034]    As previously discussed, with the level construction described in the preceding paragraphs, any one of the first, second and third spirit vials can be removed from the level and replaced by a new spirit vial by simply threadably removing the appropriate setscrew that holds the spirit vial in position and then removing the spirit vial from its vial chamber. Accordingly, if a given spirit vial is broken, or otherwise damaged, it can be easily replaced and the level need not be discarded. As depicted in the drawings, a rubber washer “R” is positioned between each setscrew and spirit vial to cushion the spirit vial and protecting it from breakage when the setscrew is tightened. 
         [0035]    For a reason presently to be described, central portion  18  of body  16  is provided with a through aperture  60  that is adapted to removably receive an elastomeric connector mechanism  62  of the character illustrated in  FIG. 8  of the drawings. Connector mechanism  62  here comprises an elongate elastomeric cord  64  and a cooperating securement member  66  which is carried by the intermediate portion of the elastomeric cord and, in a manner presently to be described, functions to secure the cord to the body  16  ( FIG. 8 ). Elastomeric cord  64  includes a first end portion  64   a  that is connected to body  16  by means of a securement disk  68 . Cord  64  also includes a second free end  64   b  and an intermediate portion  64   c.    
         [0036]    In using the level of the invention to orient a structure, such as a length of drainpipe “P”, the level is first positioned in engagement with the pipe in the manner shown in  FIG. 8  of the drawings so that the selected work piece engaging surface is in engagement with one side of the pipe. With the level in this position, the elastomeric cord  64  is fed through the aperture  60  and is wrapped around the pipe. Next, the spring loaded release button  66   a  of the securement member  66  is pressed inwardly so that the free end of the cord can be fed through the securement member opening  66   b . This done, the cord is appropriately stretched and secured against the pipe and the release button is released to lock the cord in the securement position. With the securement cord thusly positioned, the level is held in secure engagement with the pipe so that the workman can use both hands to orient the pipe. 
         [0037]    As illustrated in the drawings, body  16  is provided with a first viewing window  70  for viewing the first spirit vial  38  and second and third viewing windows  72  and  74  for viewing the second and third vials  44  and  58  respectively. 
         [0038]    With this construction, the workman is accorded a clear view of the spirit vials so that the workpiece can be readily oriented in a manner well understood by those skilled in the art. 
         [0039]    Referring once again to  FIG. 8  of the drawings, when the first work piece engaging surface  20  of body  16  is positioned in engagement with the pipe in the manner shown in  FIG. 8  of the drawings, vial axis  38   a  of the spirit vial  38  resides in a plane that is substantially parallel to the plane of first work piece engaging surface  20  of body  16 . Accordingly, centering of the spirit vial  38  will indicate that the longitudinal axis of the pipe is horizontal, that is, is positioned with zero slope. However, when the level is inverted and the second work piece engaging surface  22  of body  16  is positioned in engagement with the pipe in the manner shown in  FIG. 9 , the vial axis  38   a  of the spirit vial  38  resides in a plane that extends at an acute angle of approximately 1 percent with respect to the plane of the second work piece engaging surface (see  FIG. 1 ). Accordingly, in order for the bubble of the spirit vial  38  to be centered, the pipe “P” must be positioned at a slope of 1 percent with respect to the first reference plane horizontal. Therefore, centering of the bubble of the spirit vial  38  by the workman will automatically indicate that the longitudinal axis of the pipe is positioned with a slope of approximately 1 percent with respect to horizontal. It is to be understood that the level can be positioned on the pipe in the manner shown in  FIG. 9 , or alternatively can be secured to the pipe in the manner previously described using the elastomeric connector member  62 . 
         [0040]    When the level is rotated and the third work piece engaging surface  24  of body  16  is positioned in engagement with the pipe in the manner shown in  FIG. 10 , the vial axis  44   a  of the spirit vial  44  resides in a plane that extends at an acute angle of approximately 2 percent with respect to the plane of the third work piece engaging surface. Accordingly, in order for the bubble of the spirit vial  44  to be centered, the pipe “P” must be positioned at a slope of approximately 2 percent with respect to horizontal. Therefore, centering of the bubble of the spirit vial  44  by the workman will automatically indicate that the longitudinal axis of the pipe is positioned with a slope of approximately 2 percent with respect to horizontal. Once again, it is to be understood that the level can be positioned on the pipe in the manner shown in  FIG. 10 , or alternatively can be secured to the pipe in the manner previously described using the elastomeric connector member  62 . 
         [0041]    When the level is rotated so that the fourth work piece engaging surface  26  of body  16  is positioned in engagement with the pipe in the manner shown in  FIG. 11 , the vial axis  44   a  of the spirit vial  44  resides in a plane that extends at an acute angle of approximately 3 percent with respect to the plane of the fourth work piece engaging surface. Accordingly, in order for the bubble of the spirit vial  44  to be centered, the pipe “P” must be positioned at a slope of approximately 3 percent with respect to horizontal. Therefore, centering of the bubble of the spirit vial  44  by the workman will automatically indicate that the longitudinal axis of the pipe is positioned with a slope of approximately 3 percent with respect to horizontal. Once again, it is to be understood that the level can be positioned on the pipe in the manner shown in  FIG. 11 , or alternatively can be secured to the pipe in the manner previously described using the elastomeric connector member  62 . Elastomeric connector member  62  is available from various sources including the Ching Lin Plastic Industry Company, Inc. of Tali City, Taichung Hsien, Taiwan, R.O.C. 
         [0042]    Having now described the invention in detail in accordance with the requirements of the patent statutes, those skilled in this art will have no difficulty in making changes and modifications in the individual parts or their relative assembly in order to meet specific requirements or conditions. Such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth in the following claims.