Indala Corporation

Builders Tools, Inc.

Herbert P Radding

Noel H Eberhardt

Theodore D Geiszler

Russel E Walker

Roger D Ludlow

Robert C Tager

A compact, low-cost, hand-held builder's tool for use in defining reference lines perpendicular and parallel to a specified surface. The tool comprises a housing that is generally small enough to fit conveniently in the user's hand and that includes a battery-powered laser for projecting a visible laser beam through an exit window in the housing over an extended range. An on-board alignment mechanism is provided within the housing for adjusting and setting the alignment of the laser beam in fixed disposition for establishing an accurate reference line. The housing has two generally parallel broad faces joined by a plurality of connecting faces extending substantially perpendicular to the broad faces. One of the broad faces and two of the perpendicular connecting faces taken together define three reference planes that are mutually perpendicular to one another within a margin sufficiently small that the tool has an accuracy suitable for use over an extended range of at least about 20 ft (about 6.1 m). A practical tool may even be made with an accuracy suitable for use over a range of about 60 ft (18.29 m) or more. The on-board alignment mechanism enables the laser beam to be aligned in accurate perpendicularity to one of the mutually perpendicular reference planes and in accurate parallelism to the other two reference planes. In this way the builder's tool may project a line of laser light that is perpendicular to or parallel to a working surface in contact with one of the three faces defining the reference planes to within at least about .+-.1/8 inch (.+-.3.175 mm) at 20 ft (i.e., at 6.10 m), and may be set to a further accuracy of at least .+-.1/8 inch (.+-.3.175 mm) at 60 ft (18.29 m). Particular examples of on-board screw-thread alignment mechanisms and cam-operated alignment mechanisms are disclosed.

Hand-held builder's square and string line device incorporating a laser

A reader for radio frequency identification tags having at least one magnetic field transmitting and receiving coil which is oriented in a given plane and which is responsive to a received magnetic exciter field of a first frequency to produce and radiate an identifying magnetic field comprised of a carrier at a second different frequency modulated by an identifying code. The reader comprises a first circuit for producing a radio frequency signal of the first frequency; a first magnetic field coupling arrangement connected to the output of said first circuit for producing a corresponding exciter field at the first frequency to be magnetically coupled to the receiving coil of the tag, with the first magnetic field coupling arrangement including a solenoidal exciter coil having at least one wound exciter winding and a longitudinal axis disposed substantially perpendicular to the plane of the tag coil; a second magnetic field coupling arrangement for receiving a magnetic field of the second frequency produced by the tag and providing a corresponding electrical signal, with the second magnetic field coupling arrangement including at least one receiver coil disposed adjacent one end of the solenoidal coil; and circuitry connected to the receiver coil for decoding the received electrical signal. Preferably the tag is disposed on the lid of a trash or waste bin with the tag coil being substantially horizontal and the axis of the exciter coil is disposed substantially vertically.

Reader system for waste bin pickup vehicles

Growing community of inventors

Saratoga, CA, United States of America

Herbert P Radding