1230results about "Reference line/planes/sectors" patented technology

The integrated laser and satellite positional system receiver is disclosed. The integrated laser and satellite positioning system receiver can provide a plurality of mobile units with a laser plane data determined with a millimeter relative accuracy. The integrated laser and differential satellite positioning system receiver can also generate and transmit the differential correctional data to a plurality of mobile units. Each mobile unit equipped with a mobile satellite positioning system receiver can use the differential correction data and the high precision laser plane data to improve its position determination capabilities.

A laser level disposable on a reference surface includes a housing, a pendulum pivotably connected to the housing, a first laser diode disposed on the pendulum for emitting a first laser beam along a first path, and a lens disposed on the pendulum 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.

A pointing device for use with a laser tracker or laser scanner may include a tracker or scanner control system and a tracker or scanner plant. The tracker plant may include a plurality of motors configured to apply a torque to a mechanism that steers the laser and a plurality of angular encoders configured to send feedback information on the angular position of the mechanism to the tracker control system. The tracker or scanner control system may be configured such that, when the pointing device is operating in a manual adjustment mode, the tracker or scanner control system controls the plurality of motors to provide a torque to the mechanism opposite to a direction of movement caused by the user.

A control device for controlling the application of a material which is adapted to be applied to a subgrade by means of a road finisher, said road finisher comprising a tractor and a floating screed, which is attached by means of at least one drawarm to the tractor in such a way that said screed is arranged behind said tractor in the direction in which the road finisher is moving when in operation, a first end of said at least one drawarm being secured to the tractor by means of a vertically adjustable coupling device, and a second end of said at least one drawarm being rigidly secured to the floating screed, said control device comprising a device for detecting the height of a screed edge in relation to a reference height, said screed edge being the rear lower edge of the screed in the direction of movement. The control device further comprises a device for detecting the inclination of said at least one drawarm in relation to a reference plane. A device for controlling the height of the vertically adjustable coupling device controls the height of said vertically adjustable coupling device on the basis of the detected inclination and the detected height of the rear lower edge of the screed.

A measuring device is provided with a signal generator and a signal receiver, which is located at a measurable distance from the signal generator. The signal generator is designed for the emission of at least two signal beams covering in given relationship to each other an area and the signal receiver is designed for the time-resolved reception of the signal beams in such a manner that the generator-receiver distance can be determined from the time signature of the signal beam reception.

A laser alignment device includes a laser generating device, an upper attachment portion, and a lower attachment portion. The laser generating device includes a housing and a laser generator. The upper attachment portion is disposed near a bottom of the housing, and the lower attachment portion is pivotally and / or rotationally connected to the upper attachment portion.

An arrangement comprising a laser projection device is used in determining the location of corners in constructing a foundation of a building or other structure. The arrangement is also used in positioning wooden beams perpendicular to one another in a floor frame or similar structure.

A number of laser beam stations emit vertically separated parallel planes and / or ray-planes of laser light that can be discriminated by their respective plane elevations, modulation of the laser light, time synchronizing, etc. Identifying the laser plane would also imply an identification of the source laser beam station, and thus a precise indication of the elevation at the point of optical intercept. Alternatively, a single laser beam station is used that can emit several different monochromatic color planes and / or ray-planes of laser light. Monochromatic laser diodes, for example, are used for point-light sources and rotating or on-end conical mirrors are used to convert the diode laser light to the required monochromatic color planes and / or ray-planes of laser light. Receivers, generally held on masts attached to motor grader, bulldozer, loader, and excavator machines are used to sense the vertical reference position of the monochromatic color planes and / or ray-planes of laser light, relative to the earth cutting blade of the machine. Fixed-color filters, color filter wheels, and / or linear array photodetectors are used to discriminate amongst the colors and to exactly sense the plane of intersection with the machine. The results of the sensing are either displayed to an equipment operator for manual adjustment of the blade to an automatic servo control system connected to hydraulically control the blade.

An improved laser level has a housing and a first shaft connected to the housing. Two bearings are disposed on the first shaft. A gimbal body is disposed on the two bearings. A second shaft is connected to the gimbal body. A third bearing is disposed on the second shaft. A pendulum is disposed on the third bearing. A laser diode is disposed on the pendulum.

A position determining system is disclosed, which has a simplified configuration capable of producing a plurality of phantom planes simultaneously. The improved system according to the present invention consists of a light receiving and sensing device that includes a body having means for sending data on elevation- and depression-angles and horizontal angles, and a phantom plane determining function for determining phantom planes, so as to display or output differential angles of elevations and depressions in relation with the phantom surfaces produced from the data received from the body.

An arrangement comprising a laser projection device is used in determining the location of corners in constructing a foundation of a building or other structure. The arrangement is also used in positioning wooden beams perpendicular to one another in a floor frame or similar structure.

A modulated laser light detector that converts laser light energy into electrical signals which exhibit a frequency that is substantially the same as the laser light modulation frequency, in which these signals allow the detector unit to determine a position where the laser light is impacting upon a photodiode array. A synchronous rectifier circuit is provided which, by use of a phase locked loop, converts a full-wave analog signal representative of the modulated laser energy into a half-wave analog signal, which is filtered and demodulated to generate a DC level that is indicative of the strength of the received laser light energy. At least two channels of these signals are used to determine the impacting position of the laser light energy.

A position and color detection sensor (for detecting a position of a light spot in a light distribution that can include stray light components, e.g. from other lasers, ambient lighting etc.) includes two discrete response position sensitive detectors (DRPSDs). The first DRPSD is used to calculate a raw estimate of the spot position and the second DRPSD is used to calculate the actual spot position based on information from the first DRPSD. Color is supported by further dividing each pixel of the first DRPSD into elementary photocells, each one covered with an appropriate optical filter. The use of two DRPSDs differing in pixel geometries makes them suitable for integration on the same chip using the same process. This reduces production and alignment costs. Further, analogue microelectronic processes can be used for color filter deposition and simple optics can be used for beam splitting and shaping.

A laser indicator includes a weight mechanism having a bracket with a weight secured to the bracket in a manner where the weight is suspended by gravity. A plurality of laser generators are arranged about the weight, including a horizontal beam generator, a center laser generator arranged at the axial center of the bottom of the weight for emitting a laser point coaxial to the axial line of the weight, and a plurality of vertical beam generators positioned in spaced-apart manner around the axial center of the weight at the top of the weight. The laser indicator can include a stand that includes a seat having a plurality of legs, and a rotary table having a plurality of legs, with the weight mechanism coupled to the rotary table, and the rotary table removably coupled to the seat so that altitude of the weight mechanism can be adjusted. In addition, the laser indicator can include a securing mechanism for coupling the weight to the upper bracket of the bracket.

A laser level includes a housing, a pendulum pivotably mounted to the housing and a laser diode assembly disposed on the pendulum. A gimbal assembly is employed for pivotably mounting the pendulum to the housing. The gimbal assembly includes a frame connected to the housing, a first pair of bearings disposed on the frame, an axle extending through the first pair of bearings, a body disposed on the axle and pivotably supporting the pendulum, and a second pair of bearings disposed between the body and the pendulum. The first pair of bearings is disposed on one side of the second pair of bearings.

A constructional laser including a self-leveling optical system located in the laser housing (2) and generating a visible plumb light beam (5a) and / or visible horizontal light beam (5b), and a stand (7) fixedly secured to the housing (2) for mounting the housing on a bearing support (6), with the stand (7) being continuously pivotable about a pivot axis (A) transverse to the light beam (5a, 5b) in an angular region (↑) of greater than (20°) and discretely pivotable in angular steps encompassing the self-leveling region (a) and locable in its pivotal position.

A target for a surveying instrument, which receives from the surveying instrument a laser point light indicating a position and a distance measuring light to measure a distance, comprising a reflection diffusion layer for reflecting and diffusing the distance measuring light, a wavelength filter layer for selectively transmitting the laser point light passing through the reflection diffusion layer, and a transmission diffusion layer for spreading in a given direction and for transmitting the laser point light passing through the wavelength filter layer, wherein a projecting position of the laser point light can be confirmed.

A tape measure or other measuring surface has an attached pair of light enhancing reflective surfaces in conjunction with the numbers and measurement lines for use with rotating laser light instruments and light enhancement for readability. Reflective and glow in the dark surfaces may also be applied.

An alignment system includes a laser transmitter and receiver. The receiver includes a linear photodetector array centered at a predetermined location with respect to machined surfaces that define a receiver reference plane. An indicator on the receiver displays a deviation of the position of the laser beam from a predetermined location on the photodetector array thereby to quantify any misalignment of a surface supporting the receiver with respect to the transmitted laser beam.

A laser leveling device includes a laser instrument disposed in a housing, a plate slidably received in the housing and a lens attached to the plate. The lens includes two or more portions having different patterns to generate different light beams when the laser instrument generates the light through either of the portions of the lens, by moving the plate relative to the housing. The plate includes an aperture movable to align with the laser instrument, to allow the light beam to selectively emit through the aperture of the plate directly, without emitting through the lens. A switch may be disposed in the housing and actuated by the plate when either the aperture or the lens of the plate is aligned with the laser instrument.

A laser measurement system indicates the difference between an actual position of a vehicle frame reference point on a vehicle frame and a normal position employing a rotating laser scanner; an electro-optical detector and a host computer. A positioning arrangement is also provided for positioning the electro-optical detector at a known distance from the reference point. In operation, the host computer queries the scanner and detector via a communication link, calculates the actual position of the reference point, and displays the difference between the position of the vehicle reference point on the vehicle frame and the normal position.

A machine control system uses a laser system and global navigation satellite system to determine the position of the machine. The laser system has a laser detector positioned in a known and fixed relationship with the nominal phase center of a global navigation satellite antenna. The laser detector receives laser light transmitted from a laser transmitter. The outputs of the laser system and the global navigation satellite system are used together to determine the position of the transmitter prior to being used to determine the position of the machine.

A constructional laser including a housing (3) with a light source located inside the housing for emitting a visible laser beam rotatable about a rotational axis, a base plate (11) attached to the housing (3) and provided with an inner thread (25) approximately in a center of the base plate (11), and two handles (12, 13) for lifting and carrying the laser and connected to the base plate (11) with the two handles (12, 13) being spaced from opposite sides of the housing (3) and extending at a right angle from the base plate (11) parallel to a height of the housing (3) toward an upper surface (4) of the housing (3), with the handles (12, 13) having at sides thereof remote from the housing (3), three servo positioners (14, 15, 16), with two of the servo positioners (14, 15) being provided on one handle (12) and with the third, height-adjustable servo positioner (16) being arranged on another handle (13), the three-point arrangement of the servo positioners (14, 15, 16) defining an isosceles triangle, with the connection lines between the three forming lateral side(s) of the isosceles triangle.

A survey apparatus includes a guide light emitting optical system emitting a fan-like visible laser light elongated in upward and downward directions as a guide light, a cylindrical part having a scanning optical system searching a corner reflector provided on a survey pole and a ranging optical system measuring a distance to the corner reflector, a driving part rotating the cylindrical part about a vertical axis in a horizontal direction and rotating the cylindrical part about a horizontal axis, and an angle measurement part measuring a direction of the cylindrical part. The guide light emitting optical system is rotated about the vertical axis in a horizontal direction integrally with the cylindrical part.

A distance measuring device is provided that measures the distance to an object surface. The distance measuring device includes a housing, a measuring signal projecting and detecting means, a laser indicating device, a display, a circuit, a series of battery cells, a switch and plurality of operation buttons. The measuring signal projecting and detecting means emits a signal to an object surface and detects the reflected signal therefrom. The laser indicating device projects at least one laser beam onto a surface to form at least one visible reference line vertical to the direction in which said measuring signal is emitting. And, the circuit calculates the distance between the laser beam and the object surface.

A light detector which includes a housing having front and rear walls, a light receiving section disposed on the front wall, and displays disposed on the front and rear walls for showing the location of received light relative on the light receiving section. Also disclosed is a laser level including a motor, a shaft driven by the motor, a housing fixedly disposed on the shaft, the housing having a bore therein, a barrel pivotally connected to the housing, a laser diode module disposed within the barrel, and a screw disposed on the housing and contacting the barrel for adjusting the pivotal position of the barrel.

A protective device made of plastic, which is intended as an instrument housing for a measuring instrument. In order to ensure sufficient shock protection, which assures that the protective device is not damaged by hard shocks, the protective device is assembled from a core which is made of thermoplastic material and at least in sections encloses the housing, and a sheathing, which is made particularly of rubber elastic material.

A frame construction tool system, for wood frame buildings, or for metal, polymer, concrete, or composite frame buildings, and methods of using some or all of the tools of said tool system, are particularly well-adapted for roof and / or wall construction. Preferably, a laser light unit comprises a plurality of adjustments for directing the laser light in a variety of directions, preferably for vertical, horizontal, and pivotal adjustment. The laser light unit may be used with targets, cuttings guides, and / or prism units for splitting and / or redirecting the laser beam. In one embodiment, the laser light unit is used with reflective and / or translucent / transparent targets to accurately build a “build-over roof” wherein the laser light unit maps out points and lines of an accurate connection between the roofs. In another embodiment, the laser light unit is used with one or more targets used at the top of a stud wall, to produce a straight line reference from one end / corner of a wall to another. In another embodiment, the laser light unit may be used with a cooperating cutting guide, to measure and properly cut a straight overhang for the roof or a deck and / or to measure and properly cut upending stud members in a pony wall. The preferred laser unit may be used with prism units to layout an entire building.

A device and method detect a moving, relatively thin beam of laser light, and distinguishing between illumination of photodetectors by the beam, and illumination of the photodetectors by an omnidirectional pulse of light. A plurality of photodetector arrays are arranged in a generally vertical row, with each array having a generally vertical row of photodetector elements. Weighting circuits associated with the arrays provide first and second reference signals for each array related to the elements illuminated in the array. The ratio of sum of the reference signals to the difference between the largest and smallest of the reference signals is determined and interpreted as indicating illumination by a relatively thin beam of laser light when the ratio is less than a predetermined level, and as indicating illumination by an omnidirectional pulse of light when the ratio is greater than the predetermined level.