DEVICE FOR MARKING A SURVEY OBJECT

Abstract

Described is a device for marking a survey object. The device comprises a base having a bottom plate attachable to the survey object, and a rotary plate disposed on the bottom plate and rotatable relative thereto about a first axis, a single support arm projecting from and rotationally fixed relative to the rotary plate, and a survey marker releasably attached to and rotatable relative to the free end of the support arm about a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis.

Claims

1. A device for marking a survey object, comprising: a base having a bottom plate attachable to the survey object, and a rotary plate disposed on the bottom plate and rotatable relative thereto about a first axis, a single support arm projecting from and rotationally fixed relative to the rotary plate, and a survey marker releasably attached to and rotatable relative to the free end of the support arm about a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis.

2. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a first pivot joint disposed in the base and by which the rotary plate is rotatably connected to the bottom plate about the first axis.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the first pivot joint comprises at least one circumferential groove and at least one projection guided in the groove.

4. The device according to claim 2, wherein the first pivot joint comprises a first detent mechanism defining a plurality of rotational detent positions of the rotary plate about the first axis.

5. The device according to claim 2, further comprising a second pivot joint disposed at the free end of the support arm, by which the survey marker is rotatably connected to the support arm about the second axis of rotation.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the second pivot joint comprises an exchange mechanism that allows the survey marker to be detached from and attached to the support arm.

7. The device according to claim 5, wherein the second pivot joint comprises a receptacle formed on the free end of the support arm and two connecting elements positionable in the receptacle, a first connecting element of which is non-rotatably coupled to the survey marker and a second connecting element of which is actuatable in frictional connection with the first connecting element.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein the first connecting element is a screw and the second connecting element is a threaded bushing rotatable on the screw.

9. The device according to claim 4, wherein the first pivot joint comprises a second detent mechanism defining a plurality of rotational detent positions of the survey marker about the second axis.

10. The device according to claim 1, further comprising at least one adapter plate insertable into a recess formed on the underside of the bottom plate and shaped to fit the adapter plate.

11. The device according to claim 10, wherein the adapter plate includes a through hole.

12. The device according to claim 10, wherein the adapter plate includes a threaded shank projecting from its plate body and having an external thread and/or an internal thread.

13. The device according to claim 10, wherein the adapter plate includes a slip-on bushing projecting from its plate body.

14. The device according to claim 10, wherein the adapter plate is made of metal, preferably stainless steel.

15. The device according to claim 1, wherein the bottom plate has a magnet arrangement on its underside.

16. The device according to claim 15, wherein the magnet arrangement comprises a plurality of first magnets disposed in an edge region on the underside of the bottom plate.

17. The device according to claim 16, wherein the magnet arrangement comprises a plurality of second magnets disposed in the recess formed on the underside of the bottom plate.

18. The device according to claim 17, wherein the magnet arrangement comprises a third magnet centered on the underside of the bottom plate.

19. The device according to claim 1, wherein at least one non-slip nub is disposed on the underside of the bottom plate.

20. The device according to claim 1, wherein the support arm has the shape of an arc that approximately describes a quarter circle.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] FIG. 1 is a side view of a device for marking a survey object according to an embodiment;

[0040] FIG. 2 is a top view of the marking device;

[0041] FIG. 3 is a front view of the marking device;

[0042] FIG. 4 is another front view of the marking device with the survey marker rotated;

[0043] FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of the marking device;

[0044] FIG. 6 is a partial cutaway perspective view of the marking device to illustrate the construction of a base;

[0045] FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the marking device to illustrate a pivot joint arranged on a support arm;

[0046] FIG. 8 is another partially cutaway perspective view of the marking device to illustrate the pivot joint located in a support arm;

[0047] FIG. 9 is a rear view of the marking device;

[0048] FIG. 10 is a partially cutaway rear view of the marking device without the bottom plate to illustrate a detent mechanism integrated into the pivot joint;

[0049] FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the marking device illustrating the underside of a bottom plate of the base; and

[0050] FIG. 12 perspective views of different adapter plates.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] In the following, a specific embodiment of a device 100 according to the invention is described, which is used to mark a survey object that is not shown. The device 100 is used in a manner known per se together with a measuring device, for example a laser, a scanner, or a total station. In the following description, reference is made collectively to FIGS. 1 to 12, which show the device 100 in various views.

[0052] The device 100 includes a base 102 that is adapted to be attached to the survey object directly or with the aid of other accessories, such as suitable adapters (not shown in the figures). Extending from the base 102 is a support arm 104. In the present embodiment, the support arm 104 is in the form of an arc that approximately describes a quarter circle in the side view shown in FIG. 1. A survey marker 108 is attached to a free end 106 of the support arm 104. As explained in detail later, the device 100 is configured to allow the survey marker 108 attached to the support arm 104 to rotate about two axes A1 and A2 that are perpendicular to each other. As shown in FIG. 1, the two axes A1, A2 intersect at a center point of the survey marker 108. This means that the center point of the survey marker 108 remains stationary when the survey marker 108 is rotated about the two axes A1, A2.

[0053] The base 102 of the device 100 is composed of a bottom plate 110 and a rotary plate 112 mounted thereon. As can be seen, for example, from FIGS. 5 and 6, the two plates 110, 112 in the present embodiment are formed from shell-like elements with their shell openings facing each other.

[0054] The bottom plate 110 is used to attach the device 110 to the survey object. Thus, the bottom plate 110 is stationary relative to the survey object. In contrast, the rotary plate 112 is coupled to the bottom plate 110 such that it can be rotated relative to the bottom plate 110 about the axis A1. For this purpose, the base 102 has a first pivot joint, generally designated by the reference sign 114 in FIG. 6.

[0055] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the pivot joint 114 includes a circumferential protrusion 118 formed on an upwardly directed edge region 120 of the bottom plate 110. The pivot joint 114 further includes a groove 122 corresponding to the protrusion 118, which is provided in a downwardly directed edge region 124 of the rotary plate 112. The protrusion 118 engages the groove 122 so that the latter is guided along the protrusion 118 when the rotary plate 112 is rotated about the axis A1 relative to the bottom plate 110. A rotary guide corresponding to the pair 118/122 is formed by a further projection 126 and a further groove 128, the projection 126 being located on the rotary plate 112 and the groove 128 being located on the bottom plate 110. The two pairs of guides 118/122 and 126/128 form an encompassing rotary guide in the manner of an undercut. This rotary guide allows the user to rotate the rotary plate 112 relative to the bottom plate 110 about the axis A1.

[0056] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the rotary plate 112 includes an annular sliding disk 130 that rests on a circumferential flange surface 132 formed on the bottom plate 110. The sliding disk 130 slides on the flange surface 132 as the rotary plate 112 rotates about the axis A1. Thus, the sliding disk 130 and the flange surface 132 are also part of the pivot joint 114.

[0057] Within the shell opening of the bottom plate 120 is a perimeter wall 134 having a plurality of vertically oriented detent notches 136 on its outer surface. The detent notches 136 correspond to a corresponding number of detent lugs 138 formed on the underside of the rotary plate 112 and directed vertically downward. When the rotary plate 112 is rotated about the axis A1, the detent lugs 138 slide along the outer surface of the wall 134 and engage the detent notches 136 in a corresponding rotational position. Thus, the detent notches 136 and the detent lugs 138 form a detent mechanism which at the same time helps to ensure that the rotary plate 112 is guided in its rotational movement in a stable and smooth manner.

[0058] The base 102 further comprises a lid 140 that is inserted from above into a corresponding opening of the rotary plate 112. Thereby, an edge portion at the underside of the lid 140 comes into contact with an annular step 142 that defines the afore-mentioned opening of the rotary plate 112.

[0059] The bottom plate 110 further has a plurality of magnet receptacles in its shell opening, one receptacle of which is designated with 144 in FIG. 6 as a representative example. Magnets are inserted in the receptacles 144, which are in different radial positions with respect to the axis of rotation A1. In the present embodiment, a plurality of first magnets 146 are provided and are positioned circumferentially in an edge region on the underside of the bottom plate 110. Radially within the first magnets 146 are a plurality of second magnets 148. Finally, a single magnet 150 is centrally positioned within the bottom plate 110. The bottom plate 110 is configured in coordination with the magnets 146, 148, 150 such that the latter are magnetically effective through the bottom plate 110.

[0060] In the bottom view shown in FIG. 11, the first magnets 146 are each located between two recesses 152, 153 formed in the bottom plate 110. In contrast, the second magnets 148 are located in the region of a recess 154 provided on the underside of the bottom plate 102. In the embodiment shown, the recess 154 has the shape of a regular polygon with rounded corners. Finally, the third magnet 150 is located in the region of another central recess 156, which is also formed on the underside of the bottom plate 102. The central recess 156 is once again lowered by a certain amount relative to the surrounding recess 154 in the direction of the rotary plate 112.

[0061] There are also a plurality of non-slip nubs 158 on the underside of the bottom plate 110. These ensure that the base 102 attached to the survey object does not slip when the user manually rotates the rotary plate 112 or the survey marker 108 attached to the support arm 104.

[0062] An adapter plate can be inserted into the recess 154 provided on the underside of the bottom plate 110, which adapter plates are shown in Figure in different embodiments 160a, 160b, 160c. In the present embodiment, the respective adapter plate 160a, 160b, 160c is made of a magnetic metal, for example stainless steel. This makes it possible to fix the adapter plate 160a, 160b, 160c in the recess 154 solely by the action of the second magnets 148 without any further fastening means. To ensure a good hold in the recess 154, the adapter plate 160a, 160b, 160c has the shape of a rounded polygon in adaptation to the recess 154.

[0063] The adapter plate 160a has a central through hole 162a through which, for example, a screw can be passed to screw the adapter plate 160a to the survey object.

[0064] In an alternative embodiment, the adapter plate 160b has a threaded shank 162b that protrudes centrally from the plate body. The threaded shank 162b may be provided with an external thread, as shown in FIG. 12. Of course, it is also possible to provide the threaded shank with an internal thread. By means of the threaded shank 162b, the adapter plate 160b can, for example, be screwed onto an external or internal thread provided on a surveying tripod.

[0065] In another alternative embodiment, the adapter plate 160c has a central slip-on bushing 162c that protrudes centrally from the plate body. The slip-on bushing 162c can be used, for example, to slip the adapter plate 160 onto a locating pin that is attached to the survey object.

[0066] Each of the embodiments shown in FIG. 12 allows the user to first attach the adapter plate 160a, 160b, 160c to the survey object and then simply slip the base 102 onto the adapter plate 160a, 160b, 160c with the recess 154 formed on the bottom plate 110 thereof. By the action of the second magnets 144, the base 102 is securely held to the adapter plate 160a, 160b, 160c without the need for any other fasteners.

[0067] The device 100 further includes another pivot joint that allows the user to rotate the survey marker 108 about the axis A2. This pivot joint is generally designated by the reference sign 164 in FIGS. 5, 7, 8, and 10.

[0068] A circular cross-section receptacle 166 is located at the free end 106 of the support arm 104. A tubular socket 168 integrally formed with the survey marker 108 is inserted into the receptacle 166. Further, a screw 170 is an injection molded component integral with the survey marker 108 and disposed within the socket 168. The screw 170 is engaged with a threaded bushing 172, the internal threads of which are threaded onto the external threads of the screw 170. The screw 170 and the threaded bushing 172 form the connecting elements of a friction-locked exchange mechanism that allows the user to detach the survey marker 108 from the support arm 104 and replace it with a different marker, as needed. To facilitate changing the marker, the threaded bushing 172 has a slot 174 at its end remote from the receptacle 166 into which the user can insert a screwdriver, coin, or the like to tighten or loosen the threaded bushing 172 on or from the screw 170.

[0069] A plurality of detent lugs 176 are provided on the outer surface of the socket 168, corresponding to detent recesses 178 formed on the inner surface of the receptacle 166 (see in particular FIG. 7). As the user rotates the survey marker 108 about the axis A1, the detent lugs 176 of the socket 168 engage the detent recesses of the receptacle 166. This provides a detent mechanism in the pivot joint 164 that defines a plurality of rotational positions of the survey marker 108 about the axis A2.

[0070] By means of the two pivot joints 114, 164 described above, the survey marker 108, which is detachably attached to the support arm 104, can be brought into a desired orientation relative to the bottom plate 110, which is non-rotatably attached to the survey object, by rotating it about the axes A1 and A2 as desired. FIGS. 3 and 4 show examples of two possible rotational positions of the survey marker 108 about the axis A2.

[0071] Since both pivot joints 114, 164 have detents, the orientation of the survey marker 108 in the present embodiment takes place in steps. However, it is equally possible to provide a stepless rotation of the survey marker 108. In this case, the detent mechanisms can be dispensed with.