U.S. patent number 3,871,104 [Application Number 05/421,842] was granted by the patent office on 1975-03-18 for alignment sighting device.
Invention is credited to John V. Underhill, II..
United States Patent |
3,871,104 |
Underhill, II. |
March 18, 1975 |
Alignment sighting device
Abstract
An alignment sighting device comprising a pair of hollow lenses
in an eyeglass frame, each having intersecting horizontal and
vertical cross-hairs and colored liquid filling the hollow interior
of the lenses to the level of the horizontal cross-hair for
registration with the latter.
Inventors: |
Underhill, II.; John V. (Ft.
Lauderdale, FL) |
Family
ID: |
23672270 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/421,842 |
Filed: |
December 5, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
33/262; 473/210;
33/275R; 33/370; 33/377 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02C
9/00 (20130101); G02C 5/001 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G02C
9/00 (20060101); G01c 009/26 (); G01c 015/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;33/262,275,333,370,371,372,373,377,334,276 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Aegerter; Richard E.
Assistant Examiner: Stearns; Richard R.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Oltman and Flynn
Claims
I claim:
1. An eyeglasses-type alignment sighting device comprising:
an eyeglasses frame;
a pair of laterally spaced lenses in said frame for the wearer's
left and right eyes, respectively; each of said lenses having a
hollow interior and having a horizontal sighting line extending
laterally across it;
and a non-transparent liquid filling the hollow interior of each
lens to the level of the horizontal sighting line thereon so that
the top of the liquid registers with said horizontal sighting line
when the latter is precisely horizontal.
2. An alignment sighting device according to claim 1, and further
comprising a vertical sighting line on each lens which
perpendicularly intersects the respective horizontal sighting line
on said lens.
3. An alignment sighting device according to claim 2, wherein each
vertical sighting line intersects the respective horizontal
sighting line substantially midway across the lens.
4. An alignment sighting device according to claim 3, wherein said
non-transparent liquid is colored.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In building construction work the usual carpenter's bubble level is
used for horizontal leveling and a plumb bob may be used to
determine vertical lines. In actual practice, the use of these
tools can be time consuming or cumbersome enough that workmen have
a tendency to avoid using them when they should. As a consequence
of such non-use or a mistake in using such tools, extensive
corrective work may be required in order to get various parts of
the building properly aligned horizontally and vertically. For
example, the top and bottom of a wall cabinet should be precisely
horizontal, and the sides of a doorway should be precisely
vertical.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to an alignment sighting device
which, in the preferred embodiment, facilitates the making of both
horizontal and vertical alignments. It comprises a pair of hollow
lenses in an eyeglass frame, each lens having intersecting
horizontal and vertical cross hairs and the hollow interior of the
lens being filled with non-transparent liquid to the level of the
horizontal cross-hair. For either horizontal or vertical alignment
purposes, the top of this liquid filler first must be brought into
precise registration with the horizontal cross-hair, at which
position of the lens the horizontal cross-hair will be precisely
horizontal and the intersecting vertical cross-hair will be
precisely vertical.
A principal object of this invention is to provide a novel and
improved alignment sighting device that facilitates making
horizontal alignments.
Another object of this invention is to provide such a device that
facilitates making both horizontal and vertical alignments.
Another object of this invention is to provide such a device that
is embodied in an eyeglass construction, either a complete set of
spectacles or a clip-on attachment for the user's regular
vision-correcting eyeglasses.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent
from the following detailed description of presently preferred
embodiments thereof, which are shown in the accompanying drawing,
in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of this
invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical cross-section through one of the
hollow lenses in the FIG. 1 embodiment; and
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second, clip-on embodiment of
this invention.
Before explaining the disclosed embodiments of the present
invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is
not limited in its application to the details of the particular
arrangements shown, since the invention is capable of other
embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose
of description and not of limitation.
Referring first to FIG. 1, in this embodiment a complete eyeglasses
frame is provided, having opposite temple bow arms 10 and 11 and a
front frame member 12 that has the front ends of the temple bow
arms pivotally attached to its opposite ends. This front frame
member 12 carries a pair of lenses 13, one for the left eye and one
for the right eye. Each of these lenses has a horizontal cross-hair
14 and a vertical cross-hair 15 that intersects the horizontal
cross-hair at or near the middle of the lens.
As best seen in FIG. 2, each lens 13 is hollow, having a
transparent front window 13a and a transparent back window 13b
extending generally parallel to the front window and spaced a short
distance behind it. The space between these windows in the lens
receives a quantity of suitable non-transparent liquid 16,
preferably colored water. The volume of this liquid inside the
hollow lens is such that the top 16a of the liquid registers
exactly with the horizontal cross-hair 14 on that lens when that
cross-hair is precisely horizontal. If the lens happens to be
tilted so that the cross-hair 14 is not precisely horizontal, then
it will not register with the top surface 16a of the colored water
16 which will, of course, remain horizontal.
The cross-hairs 14, 15 preferably are on the front window 13a of
the lens but they may be on the back window 13b, if desired, or one
on each window.
When registration between the horizontal cross-hair 14 and the top
16a of the colored water is achieved, then the vertical cross-hair
15 on the lens will be precisely vertical because it extends
perpendicular to the horizontal cross-hair on the same lens.
In the use of this invention, the user places the eyeglasses frame
on his head in the usual manner and faces toward the surface or
edge that is to be aligned horizontally or vertically. Then he
positions his head so that the top surface 16a of the colored water
filler in each hollow lens 13 of the eyeglasses registers precisely
with the horizontal cross-hair 14 on that lens. As long as this
condition is maintained, he may use the horizontal cross-hairs 14
for horizontal sighting and/or the vertical cross-hairs for
vertical sighting.
FIG. 3 shows an alternative embodiment in which the front frame 112
carries clips C for releasable attachment to the front frame of a
set of eyeglasses that the user wears to correct his vision. In all
other respects the FIG. 3 embodiment is the same as the FIG. 1
embodiment, with corresponding elements carrying the same reference
numerals, plus 100, as in the FIG. 1 embodiment.
It is to be understood that, if desired, the vertical cross-hair 15
may be omitted from the hollow lens 13, leaving only the horizontal
cross-hair 14 and the liquid filler 16 for making horizontal
alignments.
Also, the present invention may be embodied in a single hollow lens
that may be held in the hand or embodied in an eye-glass frame,
either of the full spectacle type or a clip-on frame for attachment
to the user's vision correcting eyeglasses.
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