US1205705A - Automatic hand-level. - Google Patents

Description

1. l. n. BRISTOL. AUTOMATIC HAND LEVEL.

APPUCATIDN FILED MAl I3. 1916.

Patented Nov. 2l, 1916.:

WIT/VESSES cross head are adapted to be ...all 'n JOHN I. D. BRISTOL, OF CHAPPAQUA, NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC HAND-LEVEL.

i como?.

Application filed May 13, 1916.

To all yHtom '1,' z5 11mg/ concern Be it known that I, JonN l. D. lnns'roi., a citizen ot' theI United States, and a resident ot` Chappaqua, in the county otl ll'estchester and State ot' New York, have invented a new and Improved Automatic llandlievel, of which the following is a full, clear, and-exact description.

rlhis invention relates to instruments o'll precision and has particular reference to leveling,r devices.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide an instrument of the character indicated that is adapted especiallyl'or hand operation, the same beiney easily manipulated and possessed of sutlicient accuracy for ordinary purposes, such as laying' out l-awns, gardens, landscapes, tennis courts, or in approainiating the altitude of distant objects or locations.

nother object of the invention is to provide a simple, cheap, and reliable device as stated which may be held in the operators hand while making the observation, either Without or in connection with a wind shield to increase the accuracy or reliability of the observation.

With the foregoingr and other objects in View the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of, parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating.;- a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying.;` drawings, in which like reference characters designate the saine parts in the several views, and in which` Figure 1 is a` perspective view indicating the;y instrument standing erect upon a horizontal support; and Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the saine.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, at 10 l show/a horizontal beam or rod 'having a central vertical pintle 11 swiveled in the upper end of thependulum rod 12 and cross head 13. While the beam may turn around the yverticalaXis of the pintle 11, it is held from inclination with respect to the axis ol the pintle androd 12. At the ends of the cross `head are formed trunnions 1l, whereby the pendulum and supportedupon aV horizontal axis which is arranged practically transverse or perpendicular to the vertical plane of the aXis of the beam'. lVhile Specification of Letters Patent.

`may support the cross head serial no. 97,295.

l show the pintle 1l projecting downwardly into the open upper end of the pendulum rod, it is obvious that these parts might be reversed without departingl from the spirit o the invention. although .l prefer the usage as indicated in the drawings because of the longer bearingv pint'le and the pendulum rod with a correspending` increase ot accuracy of the instrument.

At the opposite ends ot' the beam 10 and 4prelerably substantially equally distant from the center ot' the pintle, are arranged a pair ot' sighting devices l5 and lll, each provided with a long and narrow horizont-al slit 15 and lo respectively. These slits are disposed at equal distances above the horizontal axis of the beam. ln other words, they are so arranged as to lie precisely in the saine horizontal plane perpendicular to the axis oi the pendulum. The sighting devices l5 and lli are rigidly; connected to the ends otl the beam, and hence the device is not likely to become distorted or out of order.

Thependulum bob 12 being of considerable mass and at the lower end of a comparatively long'rod 12, the beam 10 will always be lie-l d substantially level, .irrespective of the particular means ior supporting the cross head. l? or ordinary use, therefore, l` with the ends or points of the trunnions held between the thumb and linger ot one hand, the hand being,T either below the b am Vwith the thumb and finger held upwardly, or the hand may be inverted and held above the beam out of range of the sighting,y devices. "W hen held as stated,

lthe pendulum willalways gravitate so as to depend in a vertical line, and thereby the beam l0 will be held horizontally, and liliewise since the beain will ordinarily be set to extend, in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the cross head, theslits 15 and 16 will lie practically in a horizontal plane. rlhe operator then with his eye close to themember 15 looksthrough theslit 15 and then through the slit 1G, bringing the wire 17 in range with. some definite distant object, Whose elevation will thus be determined to be the saine as the height of the eye of the observer.

lf'll'ien the level is to be supported upon a stationary support, as 'upon a stone, stump, post, or the like, aholder 18, suchy as indif cated, is employed. rl`his holder is in the nature of an open sided tube having a wide lllaten'ted hoy'. L61, 1911i.

provided between the,

or flared base to increase the stability thereof, and to provide oscillating space for the pendulum rod protected from the wind. The upper end of the holder is notched at 19 on opposite sides to constitute bearings for thetrunnions 14. It is also notched at 20 at the rear to provide free tilting movement of the beam with respect to the holder. The holder may serve also as a. means for supporting the device in the hand of the operator taking the observation in windy weather.

The -device is very simple of construction, and yet is of a very accurate nature when used as set forth herein and for the purposes stated. It is to be noted also that the instrument is so constructed that in taking it apart, it packs neatly within the wind shield. rlhe sighting devices are designed to take in a much wider range than the ordinary level with cross wires, and this range of vision can also be greatly extended by a slight lateral movement of the horizontal beam 10 in either direction. As another lieldof usefulness for the instrument it may be noted that it is Well adapted for ascertaining the increase or decrease of elevation in road buildingor the like. For this or similar purposes, it is erpedient to use a supporting rod of Wood or the like which will elevate l the 'horizontal beam or rod l() to any desired prising a cross head, means known extent, depending upon the height of the operator from the ground to the sighting slits. From this point then a wire or cord may be run from the bottom of the supporting rod along the line ot operation to say fifty feet or any other suitable known distance, and then by a simple calculation the rise or fall ot the roadway may be easily determined.

I claim:

1. The herein described hand level comto pivotally support the cross head for rotation around a horizontal axis, a bea-m pivoted upon the cross head for movement with respect thereto around a vertical axis, a pendulum rigidly connected to the cross head, the connecting means between the cross head and the beam serving to maintain the beam in a plane perpendicular to the pendulum, and sighting devices connected to the ends of the beam, substantially as set forth.

2. ln 'an' automatic hand level, the coinbination of a cross head, means to pivotally support'l the same for movement around a horizontal axis, a pendulum rigidly connected to the cross head, a beam connected to the cross head and held thereby and by the pendulum ina horizontal plane perpendicular to the pendulum, ,and a pair ot sighting members connected to the ends ot' the beam, each sighting member being provided with a horizontal transverse slit, both slits being at the same elevation above the axis of the beam, and a wire extending from one end tothe other ot one of said slits.

3. ln an automatic hand level, the chmbination ot' an open sided tubular upright holder having at its upper end a pair ot notches arranged on opposite sides andforming seats, a cross head having trun-nions seated in said seats, a. pendulum connected rigidly to the cross head andswinging freely within the holder, a beanrprovitled with a pintle projecting downwardly through the cross head and into the pendulum whereby the beam is held from tilting movement with respect to the pendulum but is free to rotate around the axis thereof and sighting devices at the ends of the beam, substantially as set forth.

JNQ. D. BRISTOL. Nitnessesz J-. l/V. Hindus, M. l. WHITNEY.

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