FR2767917A1 - Plumb line for building alignment - Google Patents

Abstract

The plumb line has a wire (F) with a weight (100) and a vertical reference slide. The end of the wire has a reel (200) mounted inside a casing (300), allowing simultaneous wedging and functioning of a fixed height reference along the wire when the casing is applied against a support to be checked and the wire is unreeled.

Description

PLUMB-LINE
The present invention relates to the field of building / public works and in particular to the adaptations making it possible to ensure in the best conditions, the verification of the verticality by the principle of plumb line.

 The plumb line is a wire or a string provided with a weight constituted by a piece of iron or lead having for function the materialization of the perfect vertical and therefore to check all the vertical supports under construction and give them an optimal verticality.

This plumb line is conventionally equipped with a support wedge with respect to which the wire slides which ensures a gap between the vertical support to be checked and the wire. This difference must allow free swinging of the weight attached to the end of said wire in order to define after the end of its swinging the perfect vertical, that is to say that the wire is aligned with the radius of the
Earth.

 Said shim has the other function of allowing the winding of the wire, which may have a great length, around the latter in order to reduce the size of the plumb line assembly. This characteristic nevertheless has the drawback of creating a flexible extra thickness around said shim, when the wire is not fully unwound during the verification of the vertical. In fact, when the user of the plumb bob uses the shim as a fulcrum and thickness shim, the excess thickness of said shim prevents proper verification of the vertical.

 Several drawbacks have been noted during the use of a plumb line in its simplest form, that is to say as described above.

 A first drawback lies in the reaching of the wire by climatic factors. Indeed, the plumb line is a tool which can be used in any weather and in any place, the wire is therefore subjected to increases and decreases in temperatures which can have a harmful effect on its lifespan and its resistance.

In addition, the field of application of the plumb line, i.e. building / public works, does not protect the wire, which can be subjected to spraying of plaster, plaster, cement or water. making it more brittle or stiffening it which would distort all vertical checks. The plumb line is, moreover, a tool which due to its simplicity is not subject to maintenance or special attention and is very easily lost.

 Another drawback of the plumb line as it is in its current form is that, once unrolled, the weight takes a certain time to stop its swaying and define the vertical, in fact it is in free sway and the The user must wait for the end of this before checking the vertical.

 The length of the wire can vary and the use of the plumb line only on its useful length, often obliges the user to tie the length of unused wire, these knots or possible tangles of the wire are very difficult to undo due to the conditions of use from the climatic point of view but also due to the projections of the materials used in the building / public works to which the wire can be subjected. These knots can distort the vertical checks but also do not provide the adequate length of wire allowing the verification of a particularly high support.

 Another drawback of the plumb line as it currently exists lies in keeping the upper end of the wire in position on the support to be checked. Indeed, either this end is held by the hand against the support and it is the shim when it exists or the position of the wire relative to the hand, which ensures a gap between the wire and the support to be checked, or end is wrapped around the wedge or any support which ensures the support of the plumb bob assembly on the support. This support is not obvious to keep during the verification time which must take into account the end of the weight swing at the end of the wire.

 On the basis of this fact, the applicant, with his experience in the field of application of the invention, has carried out research aimed at overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks and ensuring the verification of the vertical of the supports in the best conditions. This research led to the design of an original plumb bob device to protect the thread, to ensure a secure support against the support to be checked, limiting the rocking of the weight, thus allowing optimal verification of the vertical of the supports.

 The plumb line of the invention is of the type conventionally made up of a wire to materialize the vertical provided at one end with a weight and a support wedge on the support to be checked, sliding along the wire to be positioned between a low point delimited by the weight and a fixed high point of the wire relative to said support, the reference vertical being materialized by the length of the wire extending from the weight to the point of contact of the wire with said shim .

 According to the main characteristic of the invention, the other end of said wire is associated with a winding and unwinding device mounted in rotation inside a housing simultaneously ensuring the function of a support wedge and the function of top fixed point of said wire, when said housing is applied to said support to be checked and when the wire is unwound.

 This characteristic is particularly advantageous in that it provides a secure storage means for the wire which, until now, has been particularly exposed to the external environment. Indeed, the presence of a housing accommodating a wire unwinding and winding device has the advantage of creating a protective enclosure around said wire. It is thus protected from any material projections, from rain, which contributes to extending its service life.

 In addition, the presence of a box gives more importance to the tool, which will therefore be less likely to be lost, which has been a constant concern in the approach of the applicant.

 The presence of a winding and unwinding device has the advantage of storing the wire by winding and therefore of avoiding any unnecessary bulk. In addition, a winding and unwinding device has the further advantage of giving the user exactly the desired length of wire for verifying the vertical, thus avoiding all windings around the wedge or the various nodes shortening the as much the length of the wire when the support to be checked is not of a great height. The winding device thus makes it possible to unwind the wire according to the desired length without modifying the linearity of the wire or the total length thereof.

 Better adhesion is permitted because the casing performs the function of a fixed high point of the plumb line. Indeed, the box can be held by the user and will be equipped with adhesion means preventing natural tremors from the hand of the user when the latter pressed the end of the wire against the support to be checked.

 Due to the presence of the housing, the function of the support block ensuring the gap between the wire and the support to be checked is directly performed by the housing in which the wire winding or unwinding device is located. Thus the wedge formed by the housing does not move as was the case for a conventional plumb bob, moreover this benefits from the means of adhesion of the housing to the support to be venfied.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, the aforesaid device for winding and unwinding said wire consists of a shaft driven in rotation inside the housing. The advantage of winding around a tree is to ensure good distribution over the length of the wire shaft.

 According to another particularly advantageous characteristic of the invention, said housing comprises means for blocking the rotational movement of said winding shaft and unwinding of said wire, associated with a control member external to said housing. Thus the position of the weight relative to the housing can be fixed, the user being content to hold the housing against the support to be checked. In addition, this blocking device with external control has the advantage of allowing the re-use of the plumb line in several different places with the same length of wire without additional winding or unwinding thus ensuring fixed parameters in the verification of the verticality of the support.

The fundamental concepts of the invention having just been exposed in their most elementary form, other details and characteristics will emerge more clearly on reading the description which follows, by way of nonlimiting examples and with reference to the attached drawings. , several embodiments of a plumb line in accordance with the invention. This description refers to the appended drawings in which:
Figure la is a front sectional view of a plumb line according to the invention according to a first embodiment.

Figure 1b is a perspective view of the plumb line in Figure 1a.
Figure lc is a rear perspective view of the plumb line in Figure la
Figure 2 is a sectional view of the locking means of the winding device and unwinding of the plumb line.

 Figure 3a is a partially exploded perspective view of a plumb line according to the invention according to a second embodiment with the weight secured to the housing.

 Figure 3b is a perspective view of the plumb line of Figure 3a in use.

Figure 3c is a rear perspective view of the plumb line in Figure 3a
As illustrated in the drawings of Figures la and lb, the plumb line of the invention, referenced D as a whole, consists of a wire F to materialize the vertical provided at one end with a weight 100 and associated with the other end to a winding and unwinding device referenced 200, rotatably mounted inside a housing 300 simultaneously ensuring the function of support wedge and the function of high fixed point of said wire F, when said housing 300 is applied to said support to be checked and when the wire F is unwound.

 According to this first nonlimiting embodiment, the housing adopts a substantially parallelepiped shape on the major axis of which is mounted in rotation relative to said housing 300, a shaft 210 driven in rotation inside said housing thus constituting the above device winding and unwinding 200 of said wire F.

 Thus the second end of the wire F is fixed on the shaft 210, the length of the wire F coming to wrap around said shaft 210. Of course, the length of said shaft 210 and its diameter are calculated in order to ensure winding the desired length of wire so that, in the coiled position, the weight 100 comes into contact with said housing 300.

 According to a particularly advantageous characteristic of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1a, the aforesaid shaft 210 which, comprising a portion 211 located inside the housing 300 around which said wire F is wound and / or unwound, is associated with a manual drive device 220 outside said housing 300.

 According to a preferred but nonlimiting embodiment of the invention, the manual drive device 220 here consists of a crank, the handle 221 of which, as illustrated in the drawing in FIG. 2, constitutes the blocking means of the above-mentioned device winding and unwinding 300. Indeed, the handle 221 is in pivoting sliding connection with the crank arm 222 whose movement is materialized by the double arrow A and adopts two positions: - a position of unwinding or winding for which said handle is pulled outwards shown in solid lines, a locking position for which said handle 221 is pushed inwards from the housing 300 shown in short broken lines.

 According to a particularly advantageous characteristic of the invention, the aforesaid case 300 comprises several faces, one of which at least 310, is intended to be applied to said support to be checked and of which another 320 different from the first one is pierced with a light 321 ensuring the function of guiding the wire F.

 The presence of this light 321 makes it possible to materialize the start of the reference vertical for the verification of the support. In addition, the position of this light which is located here, according to a nonlimiting embodiment, at the point of symmetry of said face 320, determines the distance separating the wire F from the support to be checked.

 The face 310 intended to be applied to said support advantageously comprises adhesion members constituted here by three support points 311, 312, 313 allowing better hold of the plumb line D as a whole and of the box on the support to be checked. .

According to another particularly advantageous characteristic of the invention, the aforesaid housing 300 comprises externally, a plastic strip 400 pivotally mounted relative to the latter 300 and whose shape and length are such that once pivoted in the appropriate position, as illustrated in FIG. 1 a, said plastic strip 400 comes into contact with the wire F in order to limit the swings due to the oscillations of the weight. Of course, this plastic strip is not rigid and does not interfere in the definition of the vertical produced by the weight. In addition, the user may, after the oscillations of said wire
F be slowed down, pivot said strip 400 in its original position against said housing 300 as illustrated in the drawing in FIG. 1c. In addition, the plastic material of said strip 400 makes it possible to conform externally to the shapes of the housing 300, while allowing it to pivot.
According to a preferred embodiment and still to accelerate the verification of the verticality of the support, the weight 100 fixed to the end of the wire is provided with adhesion members 110 and 120 making it possible to slow down during the possible contact of the weight 100 with the support to verify the oscillations of said weight 100.

As illustrated in the drawing in FIG. 1b, the aforesaid case 300 of the plumb line
D is preformed so as to accommodate the shape of said weight 100 on one of its faces 320 so as not to leave a wart volume. This characteristic is particularly advantageous by making it possible to minimize the total volume and by reducing the number of edges of said housing 300 which could adversely affect the maneuverability of the plumb line as a whole. thus, as illustrated in the drawing in FIG. 1b, the face 320 of the parallelepipedal housing 300 accepts the same dimensions as the upper face of the weight 100 so that when the weight 100 is raised so as to be adjacent to the housing 300 the two volumes come together to form one. The winding and unwinding device 200 can be locked in this position there in order to keep the weight 100 and the housing 300 side by side.

 According to another particularly advantageous characteristic, the above-mentioned case 300 comprises externally (FIG. 1c) a hooking member 500 of the hook type adaptable to the attachment to clothing.

 A second preferred embodiment of the plumb line D is illustrated in the drawings of FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c.

 As described above, this second embodiment, the other end of said wire F is associated with a winding and unwinding device 200 rotatably mounted inside a housing 300 simultaneously ensuring the function of support wedge on its support face 310 and the top fixed point function of said wire, when said housing 300 is applied to said support to be checked and when the wire F is unwound. The case here has the particularity of adopting a semi-cylindrical shape adapting to the shape of the winding and unwinding device 200 which happens to be constituted by a short shaft or a pulley on which the wire F is wound. .

 Another particularly advantageous but non-limiting embodiment is that the face 320 receiving the weight when the wire F is fully wound, comprises a housing adopting the profile of said weight so as to maintain it in this position when the plumb line D does not is not used.

 In use, the housing 300 is placed against the support to be checked, by applying its face 210 against the latter, the weight 100 is then released from its housing and performs a downward stroke as illustrated in the drawing of FIG. 3b by the arrow B by driving the wire F and the winding and unwinding device 200 in the direction of rotation represented by the arrow C, the user naturally leaves the winding and unwinding device 200 in free rotation so that the action of the weight 100 is sufficient for the unwinding of the wire F. Arrived at the right height the weight is stopped either by the support of the user on the external part of the winding and unwinding device or by actuation of the blocking command of said device 200 (not shown). Once the weight is locked in position, the user can rotate the plastic strip 400 to slow down the oscillations of the weight 100.

 Once the verification has been carried out, the user removes the plumb line D from the support, puts said strip 400 back into position (if it has not already done so), releases the wire F, and ensures by means of the crank 221 of said device. winding and unwinding in a movement opposite to the rotational movement illustrated by the arrow C, the winding of the wire F. Arrived at the end of the stroke, the weight 100 is replaced in its housing and the winding and unwinding device locked in this position so that a non-tensioned wire F cannot allow the weight 100 to come out of its housing.

 As illustrated in the drawing in FIG. 3c, the above-mentioned case 300 externally comprises a hooking member 500 of elastic type adaptable to attachment to clothing.

 It is understood that the plumb bob which has just been described and shown above, was for the purpose of disclosure rather than limitation. Of course, various arrangements, modifications and improvements may be made to the above example, without departing from the scope of the invention taken in its broadest aspects and spirit.

 Thus, for example, according to another particularly advantageous characteristic of the invention, the aforesaid shaft 210 comprising a portion 211 located inside the housing 300 around which said wire F is wound and / or unwound, is associated with a device for spring return arranged inside the housing 300 to automatically ensure the winding of the wire F after verification, the return of the weight 100, and therefore its maintenance in position against or in the housing 300.

 In addition, the locking means of the wire winding and unwinding device can accept several technical solutions without departing from the scope of the invention.

In order to offer the user a wide range of differences separating the wire F from the support to be checked, several solutions are possible:
- Other faces of the housing 300 such as the illustrated side 310 may be provided with adhesion means thus making it possible to propose several deviations, or
- The light through which the wire slides and which determines the start of the verification vertical can be produced on a sliding plate relative to the face of the housing 300 which supports it, thus proposing from a single application face several deviations .

 In order to allow a better understanding of the drawings, a list of references with their legend is listed below.

100 .... Weight
110, 120 .... . Weight adhesion devices
200 .. Winding and unwinding device
210 ... Tree
211 ... Inner portion of the tree
220. . . Manual drive device
221 .... ... Handle
222 ... ... Crank arm
300. Housing
310 .... . Case bearing face against the support
311, 312, 313 .... . Housing support points
320 ... ... Face of the housing accommodating the weight
321 .... ... Wire guide light F
400 .... Plastic coverslip
500 .... Hanging device
Arrow B ... ... Downward movement of the weight
Arrow C ... ... Wire unwinding movement F
D. . Plumb line as a whole
F ... Wire

Claims (10)

 1. Plumb line (D) of the type consisting of a wire (F) to materialize the vertical provided at one end with a weight (100) and, sliding along the wire (F), a block bearing on the support to be checked, to be positioned between a low point delimited by the weight (100) and a fixed top point of the wire relative to said support, the vertical reference being materialized by the length of the wire (F) s extending from the weight (100) to the point of contact of the wire with said shim, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the other end of said wire (F) is associated with a winding and unwinding device (200) mounted in rotation inside a housing (300) simultaneously ensuring the function of a support wedge and the function of the top fixed point of said wire (F), when said housing (300) is applied to said support to be checked and when the wire (F) is unrolled.  2. Plumb line (D) according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the above winding and unwinding device (200) of said wire (F) is constituted by a shaft (210) rotated inside the housing (300).  3. Plumb line (D) according to claim 2, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT said housing (300) comprises means for blocking the rotational movement of said shaft (210) for winding and unwinding said wire (F), associated with a control member external to said housing (300).  4. Plumb line (D) according to claim 2, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the above-mentioned shaft (210) which, comprising a portion (211) located inside the housing (300) around which is wound and / or unwound said wire (F), is associated with a manual drive device ( 220) outside said housing (300).  5. Plumb line (D) according to claim 2, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the above-mentioned shaft (210) comprising a portion (211) situated inside the housing (300) around which said wire (F) is wound and / or unwound, is associated with a spring return device arranged at the inside the housing (300) to automatically ensure the winding of the wire (F) after verification.  6. Plumb line (D) according to claim 2, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the aforesaid case (300) has several faces, at least one (310) of which is intended to be applied to said support to be checked and of which another (320) different from the first one is pierced with a light (321) ensuring the wire guiding function (F).  7. Plumb line (D) according to claim 2, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the above case (300) is preformed so as to accommodate the shape of said weight (100) on one (320) of its faces so as not to leave a wart volume.  8. Plumb line (D) according to claim 2, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the aforesaid case (300) comprises externally, a plastic strip (400) pivotally mounted relative to the latter (300) and whose shape and length are such that a jars pivoted in an adequate position, said plastic strip (400) comes into contact with the wire (F) in order to limit the swaying due to the oscillations of the weight (100).  9. Plumb line (D) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the aforesaid case (300) externally comprises a hooking member (500) of elastic or hook type, adaptable to attachment to clothing.  10. Plumb line (D) according to any one of the claims 1 to 8, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the weight (100) fixed to the end of the wire (F) is provided with adhesion members (110, 120) making it possible to slow down, during possible contact of the weight (100) with the support to measuring, the oscillations of said weight (100).