GB2072374A - Unit for viewing areas with limited access - Google Patents

Abstract

Scanner units for investigating areas to which there is limited access often have a small reflector at the end of a stick and are held so that a person can see underneath the item to be inspected. Visual inspection is sometimes made difficult because the areas to be inspected are relatively dark and the reflector is difficult to position. In the present invention such a unit has an extensible shaft (12) and can have a pivotable reflector (28) with a suitable control (82). A lamp (34) is carried by the shaft for illuminating dark areas. In order to diffuse light from the lamp, the lamp may have a diffusing lens and may point towards the reflector so that reflected light is projected at the area to be inspected. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Unit for viewing areas with limited access This invention relates to scanner units for investigating areas to which there is limited access, such as beneath vehicles, furniture, or other items.

Scanner units have been proposed in the past and they often have a small mirror mounted at the end of a stick and are held so that a person can see underneath the item to be inspected. However, visual inspection is sometimes made difficult because the areas to be inspected are relatively dark and merely shining a hand-held torch underneath the item to be inspected does not always provide adequate illumination.

The present invention provides a scanner unit comprising an extensible shaft having a grip portion for enabling the shaft to be held by a person wishing to investigate areas to which there is limited access, a reflector carried by the shaft for enabling a person holding the shaft to see such areas reflected in the reflector, and means carried by the shaft for illuminating such areas.

The illuminating means can be a suitable lamp, which may be operable by a battery.

The lamp may be mounted in the region of the reflector and may point towards the area to be inspected. However, when normal lamps are used in this way they can create bright spots which contrast against surrounding areas and make it relatively difficult to see into the surrounding areas. It is therefore preferable for the lamp to provide suitably diffused light, and for this purpose the lamp may have diffusing means, such as a diffusing lens or cover to diffuse the projected light.

The problem of bright spots can be further eliminated if the lamp is mounted so that it projects light towards the reflector from a position closer to the hand grip portion of the unit. This enables the reflector to reflect relatively diffused light towards the area to be inspected. If the lamp is arranged only slightly out of the line of sight of a person looking at the reflector, the unit will be particularly effective.

In one suitable form of the invention, the lamp can be operable by a switch at the grip portion of the unit, and a power source for the lamp may also be arranged at this section of the unit to reduce the mass in the region of the reflector. The unit may optionally be provided with a connector lead for connecting the lamp to a car battery or other power source.

In order to make the unit relatively easy to handle, the shaft may be of a suitable lightweight material, such as aluminium tubing. The shaft may be extensible so that it can be adjusted to suit different users and also to increase its length to allow for access to relatively remote positions. If the shaft has tubular sections fitted one within another, it may also have locking means for locatiny the sections in a variety of positions with respect to one another.

The shaft may be cranked to form the grip portion of the unit and, if desired, may be provided with a projecting handle to facilitate handling. It may also have an arm support for fitting around part of the fore-arm of a user.

The reflector may be of any suitable type and may, for example, comprise a silvered glass or plastics sheet. The reflector may be fitted to the shaft at a suitable angle, or may be pivotably mounted on the shaft. If it is pivotally mounted, the mounting means may be such that the angle of the reflector with respect to the shaft is variable, for example by means of an operating member extending substantially to the grip portion of the unit. If the unit includes a telescopic shaft, then the operating member may also be telescopic to allow its length to be adjusted to allow for adjustment of the shaft length.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 shows a first scanner unit according to the invention; Figure 2 shows an alternative scanner unit; Figure 3 shows a lower portion of yet another unit; Figure 4 shows a fourth scanner unit; and Figure 5 is an end view of a lower portion of the unit of Fig. 4.

Referring firstly to Fig. 1, a scanner unit 10 for investigating areas to which there is limited access, comprises a shaft 1 2 having a grip portion 14 which has a hand grip 1 6 on the end of the shaft, and a further hand grip 1 8 projecting transversely from the shaft. In addition, an arm support 20 is provided for fitting around part of the fore-arm of a user to help to stabilize the unit, in use.

The shaft 1 2 is made of lightweight aluminium tubing sections 22 and 24, the section 24 fitting telescopically into the section 22. A locking nut 26 is screwed onto the end of the section 22, and a compressible element (not shown), such as a split plastics sleeve, is fitted between the end of the section 22 and an inner shoulder of the locking nut 26. Screwing the nut onto the section 22 causes compression of the split sleeve, thus for clamping the section 24 of the shaft in position. The sections are thus movable but locatable in different positions with respect to one another so that the length of the shaft is variable.

A half-square U-shaped bracket 26 is fixed rigidly at the end of the shaft 1 2 furthest from the grip portion, and a reflector 28 is supported partly within this bracket on a disc 30 carried by a support element 32 fixed to the bottom of the bracket 26. The reflector may be a silvered glass or silvered plastics material reflector and may be held in position in any suitable manner.

A lamp 34 is carried by the shaft by being fixed to a lug 36 on the bracket 26 and is electrically connected to a power source 38 by a lead 40. In order to reduce the likelihood of the lamp producing bright spots and contrasting areas that are relatively difficult to see, when the unit is in use, the lamp has a suitable diffusing lens 42 for diffusing the light of the lamp. A switch 44 is provided on the shaft 12 for enabling the lamp to be switched on and off as desired.

The scanner unit of Fig. 2 is, to some extent, similar to that of Fig. 1 and like reference numerals are used for like parts.

The grip portion of the unit of Fig. 2 is formed by cranking the shaft at 46 and providing it with a hand grip 48. An arm support 20 is provided at the end of the shaft 1 2 so that the unit can be carried by locating a forearm in the support 20 and by holding the hand grip 48.

The shaft 12 of Fig. 2 also has telescopic sections, similar to those of Fig. 1, and can be extended or shortened in a similar manner. A reflector 28 fixed in a plastics rim 50 is mounted on forwardly extending arms 52 projecting from the bottom of the shaft 1 2.

The rim has lugs 54 which receive and are pivotable on curved end portions 56 of the arm 52.

An operating member 58 comprising a tube 60 which receives a rod 62 is provided with a locking nut 64, similar to the locking nut 26 of the shaft 1 2. This locking nut enables the length of the operating member to be adjusted when the length of the shaft is adjusted. The operating member is connected between a lug 68 on the rim 50 and one end of an operating arm 66 mounted on a pivot pin 70 on the shaft 12. Pivoting of the arm 66 can thus adjust the position of the mirror and provide the unit with greater versatility.

Instead of having a lamp 34 located so that it points directly towards the area to be viewed, the lamp 34 in Fig. 2 is mounted on the shaft 1 2 closer to the grip portion and is aimed towards the reflector 28. The lamp is slightly out of the line of sight of a person holding the unit and looking at the reflector.

This positioning of the lamp, together with the provision of the diffusing lens, can help to eliminate the likelihood of bright spots being created.

In the unit of Fig. 2, a power pack 38 is again mounted at the grip portion 14, and a switch can be provided on the power pack, on the shaft 1 2 or on the lamp.

Fig. 3 shows an alternative arrangement in which the lamp is located on a shaft 1 2 only slightly above the reflector 28, the lamp again being provided with a diffusing lens. In this embodiment, the lamp 34 incorporates a power pack and a switch.

In Figs. 2 and 3, the reflector can be either a silvered glass, plastics, or perspex mirror of any-suitable thickness, or a polished stainless steel plate. It may be convex, concave or flat, and is preferably supported by a disc of plastics material, glass-fibre reinforced plastics material, or metal.

The unit of Figs. 4 and 5 has an extensible shaft 1 2 similar to that of the other units. The lower end of the shaft is curved at 72 and carries a mounted bracket 74 which extends between a pair of mounting brackets 76 on the reflector. The brackets 74 and 76 are connected by a pivot pin 78 so that reflector 28 can be pivoted with respect to the shaft 12.

A Bowden cable 80 is fitted to a bicycletype of brake lever 82 in a conventional manner at the handle portion of shaft. The Bowden cable extends into the shaft 12 and is coiled slightly within the shaft. The sleeve 84 of the Bowden cable is fixed to the mounting for the lever 82 and is also fixed in the lower end of the shaft. The inner cable 86 of the Bowden cable is secured to the lever and to a lug on a reflector.

When the major part of the lever 82 is moved towards the grip 48 of the shaft, the cable 86 is drawn through the sleeve 84 and the cable 86 exerts a pivoting action on the reflector, causing it to pivot about the pivot pin 78. A tension spring 88 is connected between brackets on the reflector and the shaft, respectively, and opposes the pivoting movement of the reflector. It also serves to return the reflector to a normal operating position when the lever is released.

The slack is the Bowden cable within the shaft allows the shaft to be extended without the need for adjusting any other components of the unit.

Claims (11)

1. A scanner unit comprising an extensible shaft having a grip portion for enabling the shaft to be held by a person wishing to investigate areas to which there is limited access, a reflector carried by the shaft for enabling a person holding the shaft to see such areas reflected in the reflector, and means carried by the shaft for illuminating such areas.

2. A unit according to Claim 1, wherein the illuminating means comprises a lamp having diffusing means for diffusing projected light.

3. A unit according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the illuminating means is mounted closer to the hand grip portion of the unit than the reflector so that it projects light towards the reflector, enabling the reflector to reflect relatively diffused light towards an area to be inspected.

4. A unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the illuminating means is operable by a switch at the grip portion of the unit, and a power source for the lamp is also arranged at this portion of the unit.

5. A unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the shaft is made substantially of aluminium tubing.

6. A unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the shaft has tubular sections fitted one within another, and locking means for locating the sections in a variety of positions with respect to one another.

7. A unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the shaft is cranked to form the grip portion of the unit and has an arm support for fitting around part of the forearm of a user.

8. A unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the reflector is pivotably mounted on the shaft by suitable mounting means so that the angle of the reflector with respect to the shaft is variable.

9. A unit according to Claim 8, including an operating member operable to move the reflector and extending substantially to the grip portion of the unit.

10. A unit according to Claim 9, wherein the operating member is extensible to allow its length to be adjusted to allow for adjustment of the shaft length.

11. A unit according to Claim 9, wherein said operating member is a sleeved cable including slack to allow for extension of the shaft.

1 2. A scanner unit, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.