The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 17, 2002
Filed:
Aug. 11, 2000
Norman L. Krantz, San Jose, CA (US);
Zircon Corporation, Campbell, CA (US);
Abstract
A fluid-actuated level device for use, for instance, in the building trades, discovers points lying on a horizontal plane with a reference point. The level device has a tube with a referenceend and a working-end, and a housing unit attached to the reference-end. Electrodes in the housing unit measure fluid-levels in the reference-end. When the fluid-level in the working-end is positioned in the horizontal plane containing the reference point, then the level device emits a signal; in one embodiment, this signal is a single continuous sound. When the working-end is positioned slightly higher than the reference point, a second signal is emitted; in one embodiment, this signal is an intermittent sound. The second intermittent sound notifies the worker that the fluid-level in the working-end is too high relative to the reference plane, i.e., the worker has “overshot” the reference plane. Also provided are embodiments having a tube window, an alignment window, and a slidable backing assembly. The tube window provides visual access to the electrodes in the tube. The alignment window enables the reference markers to be in close proximity on adjacent sides of the tube at the reference-end. A slidable backing assembly enables the housing unit to be slidably adjusted along a continuous vertical line after it is affixed to a reference point. Lastly, a method for using a non-transparent tube is provided.