US716006A - Self-computing leveling-rod. - Google Patents

Description

Patented Dec l6, I902.

7/ No; 7l6,006.

- A; s. DOAK. SELF COMPUTING LEVELING BOD.

(Application filed Aug. 10, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALVAH S. DOAK, OF WINCHESTER, OI-IIO.

SELF-COMPUTING LEVELlNG-ROD.

SFEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 716,006, dated December 16, 1902. Application filed August 10, 1901. Serial No. 71,574. (No model.)

1.0 all whom, it ntcty concern:

Be it known that I, ALVAH S. DOAK, a citizen of the United Stat es, residing at Winchester, in the county of Adams and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Self-Computing Leveling-Rod, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is a bottom leveling rod adapted for use in civil engineering, the object of the invention being to simplify and facilitate the work in cross-sectioning, in laying out turnpikes, and the like.

Another object of the invention is to pro- .vide a leveling-rod which shall be practically self-computing, thereby avoiding a great deal of mathematical computation necessary with leveling-rods now in common use.

With these objects in view my invention consists, essentially, in providing a central longitudinally-movable belt passing over rollers arranged at each end of the leveling-rod and having the scales arranged upon the rod upon opposite sides of the belt.

The invention consists also in providing an adjustable target upon the belt when arranged in connection with the double scale arranged upon the rod proper.

The invention consists also in arranging the scales upon opposite sidesin reverse order, those on one side reading up, while those on the other side are read down.

The invention consists also in certain details of construction and novelties of combination, which will be fully described hereinafter and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure l is a view showing the upper portion of a leveling-rod constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a view showing the lower portion. Fig. 3 is a side view, the rod being broken away to more clearly illustrate the hinge-joint connecting the two sections. Fig. 4 is a detail View of the hinge. Fig. 5 is an enlarged face view showing the bottom of the leveling-rod. Fig.

6 is a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7

is a detail sectional view taken through the target and belt, and Fig. 8 is a detail section taken through the tape directly above one of the indicators.

In carrying out my invention I employ a red A, preferably constructed of wood,ten feet long, seven-eighths of an inch thick, and three inches wide; but it will of course be understood that these dimensions are not material and that the rod can be made any length, width, and thickness desired.

In practice I. prefer to make the rod in two sections hinged at B in order that the rod can be folded whenever it is desired to pack, carry, or transport the same. By reference to Fig. t it will be noticed that the hinge-plate B is made longer than the hinge-plate B the purpose being to overlap and protect the joint and afford a more rigid connection when the rod is'opened. and set up for use.

In the further description of this red I shall refer to it as an entirety, inasmuch as the rod when set up constitutes a single .rod rigid throughout its entire length. The rod has a central longitudinal groove C out in the forward face thereof and a similar groove D cut in the rear face thereof, and at the upper and lower ends the rod is recessed to receive the rollers E, and passing around these rollers and traveling in the grooves O and D is an endless belt F, which is preferably made of canvas or other suitable fabric.

A circular target G is arranged upon the belt, the belt passing through a guide G, arranged upon the back of the target, and a spring G ,bearing upon the belt, provides sufficient tension to hold the target upon the belt in any position in which it may be placed, it being understood that the target can he slid or adjusted upon the belt as desired. This target has alternate quadrants painted thereon in red and white. Two indicators H are also slidably arranged upon the belt, one near the top and the other near the bottom of the rod. The face of the rod is graduated upon each side of the central belt in scales of feet, tenths, and hundredths. The left side of the rod is divided into any desired number of scales, the numbers reading from the bottom upwardly, and the right side of the rod is divided into a corresponding number of scales, the numbers reading from the top downwardly, as most clearly shown in Fig. 5. The scale on the left indicating embankments, as will be hereinafter explained, adjacent to the belt, is in feet and tenths of feet, the latter being indicated by ruled lines. Adjacent to this scale is a scale in hundredths of feet. This scale is read in connection with the large figures on the outer left-hand portion of the rod, from 7 to 8 in Fig. 5 (left-hand side) indicating one foot and the line of figures commencing with O0 to 99 show hundredths ofa foot. Any one or more of the scales can be changed or varied in any suitable manner, as may be desired. Upon the back of the rod is arranged an ordinary tape-measure M.

It is obvious that a leveling-rod constructed as herein shown and described may be used for a number of different purposes and by difierent methods; but the following will suffice to show one method of use. The rod is set perpendicularly at the center stake if a fill is being made. Set the lower indicator at the required fill, using the column upon the left adjacent to the belt, then set the target, slipping it up or down upon the belt without moving the belt until-the target comes in line of level, then move the rod to the right, measuring distance from the center by the tapeline, until when moving the belt up, or down, the target and indicator remaining fixed on the belt and moving with it, the target reaches the line of level and the reading on the line agrees with the reading on the rod in the secondcolumn upon theleft,as pointed out by the indicator. The result is read oif by the rodman, the indicator pointing out in the first column the fill at side stake and in the second column the distance from the center stake. If the indicator goes to the bottom, it indicates grade or zero. If it goes farther, use the top indicator, reading down in the columns to the right of the belt, thus indicating a cut or excavation. By having two indicators upon the belt they should both be at zero at the same time. The scales upon the left are marked Emb. to indicate embankment and those upon the right are marked Exc. to indicate excavation.

If, for example, it is found from the profile-book that at a certain point a +.33-foot embankment is required, the rodman sets the indicator H at .33 on scale (see Fig. 5) marked Emb. The rod is always held in a perpendicular position, and so holding it and keeping the belt and indicator stationary the rodman moves the target G up and down until it comes in line with the level of the instrument. Both target and indicator remain fixed relative to each other during the remainderof the operation. The rodman then moves the rod to the left at right angles to the center line of the road, drawing out the tape-line M, the lineman P holding the zero end of the line over the center stake, (the 'point from which level was taken to set the target,) and if, say, six feet from the stake the rod be set down on lower ground the indicator will go up to, for example, .58, and the re- .58 sult would be written the plus sign indicating embankment and the whole signifying an embankment of .58 of a foot atsix feet from the center stake, and the operation would then be repeated farther on. When the rod reaches a point where the indicator H goes to zero, the end of the embankment is indicated, and should upon the next move being made the other indicator come into play an excavation is indicated and the figures on the opposite side are used. These run in the reverse order from those on the left-hand side. The outer scale on the right commences with 7 and runs up to 22. On the right the corresponding scale commences with 9 (not shown) and ends with 24, (see Fig. 5,) the reason being that an extra four feettwo on each side of the center line-is allowed in excavations for ditches.

It will thus be seen that I provide an exceedingly simple and elficient self-computing leveling-rod, which will avoid all calculations, and consequently will save time and errors.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A leveling-rod havinga plurality ofscales arranged longitudinally thereon, and a longitudinally-movable belt carrying an indicator and a target registering with all of said scales.

2. A levelingrod havinga plurality ofscales arranged longitudinally thereon, a part of the scales being arranged in the reverse order to the others, and a longitudinally-movable endless belt carrying an indicator adapted to register with all of said scales.

3. A'leveling-rod having a longitudinallymovable endless belt, an indicator and target on said belt, the target being movable relative to the belt, and a plurality of scales arranged on each side of said belt.

4. A leveling-rod having a plurality of scales on one side thereof, a part of the scales being arranged reversely to the others, a longitudinally-movable belt adapted to register with all of said scales, an adjustable indicator carried by the belt, and a target movably secured to the belt.

5. Aleveling-rod having a plurality ofscales on one side thereof, a part of which are arranged in the reverse order to the others, the scales of each order being of different denominations,a longit-ndinallymovable endless belt adapted to register with the two series, and an indicator and a target on the belt.

6. A leveling-rod having reversely-a rranged scales on one side thereof, a part of the scales indicating vertical measurements and a part indicating horizontal measurements, a longitudinally-movable belt adapted to register with all of said scales, and a slidable indicator, and a movable target on the belt.

ALVAI-I S. DOAK.

Witnesses:

J. H. BRADFORD, J. A. MILLER.

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