WikiPatents - Community Patent Review
Create Free Account  |  License or Sell Your Patent  |  WikiPatents Marketplace  |  WikiPatents Blog
Username:  Password:  
    
Advanced Search
Control and method for positioning a tool of a construction apparatus    
United States Patent6152238   
Link to this pagehttp://www.wikipatents.com/6152238.html
Inventor(s)Ferrell; Dirrick J. (Kentwood, MI), Stoepker; Ross C. (Kentwood, MI), Steenwyk; Timothy E. (Grand Rapids, MI), Walstra; Eric Jon (Grand Rapids, MI)
AbstractA control system for establishing grade and elevation control for a tool of a construction apparatus for maintaining the vertical position of the tool relative to a reference includes a first ultrasonic transducer configured to be carried by the construction apparatus, with the first transducer transmitting and receiving acoustic waves, at least one reflector, a second ultrasonic transducer configured to be carried by the construction apparatus, with the second transducer receiving acoustic waves, and a controller coupled to the first and second ultrasonic transducers which drive the transducers to produce an acoustic wave and monitors the time reflections of the acoustic wave are respectively received by the first and second transducers. The controller determines the local speed of sound based on a first in time reflection received by the second ultrasonic transducer and determines the distance from the construction tool to a reference based on the local speed of sound and a second in time reflection received by both the first and second ultrasonic transducers. The controller produces at least one electrical signal as a function of the distance of the ultrasonic transducers from the reference. In preferred form, the controller communicates the signal to a positioning device, which signal actuates the positioning device to adjust the position of the construction tool with respect to the reference.
   














 Title Information Submit all comments and votes
 
Patent Text Patent PDF Print Page Summary File History
Plain text PDF images Print Summary File History
Inventor     Ferrell; Dirrick J. (Kentwood, MI) , Stoepker; Ross C. (Kentwood, MI) , Steenwyk; Timothy E. (Grand Rapids, MI) , Walstra; Eric Jon (Grand Rapids, MI)
Owner/Assignee     Laser Alignment, Inc. (Grand Rapids, MI)
Patent assignment
All assignments
Publication Date     November 28, 2000
Application Number     09/159,255
PAIR File History     Application Data   Transaction History
Image File Wrapper   Patent Term   Fees
Litigation
Filing Date     September 23, 1998
US Classification     172/2 172/781 701/50
Int'l Classification    
Examiner     Novosad; Christopher J.
Assistant Examiner    
Attorney/Law Firm     Van Dyke, Gardner, Linn & Burkhart, LLP
Address
Parent Case    
Priority Data    
USPTO Field of Search     701/50 172/4.5 172/4 172/2 172/781 172/811
Patent Tags     control positioning tool construction
   
Enter a comma (,) or semicolon (;) between multiple tag words/phrases.
Describe this patent:
 Amusing   
 Clever   
 Complex   
 Efficient   
 Historic   
 Important   
 Innovative   
 Interesting   
 Practical   
 Simple   
[no votes]
Patent WIKI

Share information and news about this patent, including information and news about the technology, inventors, company, ligation and licensing.

 References Submit all comments and votes
 
*references marked with an asterisk below are user-added references
 U.S. References
 
Add a new US reference:  
ReferenceRelevancyCommentsReferenceRelevancyComments
5854988
Davidson et al.

Dec,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5799419
Seo et al.

Sep,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5713144
Haraoka

Feb,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5711022
Steenwyk

Jan,1998

[0 after 0 votes]
5699247
Moriya et al.

Dec,1997

[0 after 0 votes]
5682311
Clark

Oct,1997

[0 after 0 votes]
5671554
Geelhoed

Sep,1997

[0 after 0 votes]
5572809
Steenwyk et al.

Nov,1996

[0 after 0 votes]
5446980
Rocke

Sep,1995

[0 after 0 votes]
5442868
Ahn

Aug,1995

[0 after 0 votes]
5438771
Sahm et al.

Aug,1995

[0 after 0 votes]
5430651
Nielsen et al.

Jul,1995

[0 after 0 votes]
5356259
Hanamoto et al.

Oct,1994

[0 after 0 votes]
5327345
Nielsen et al.

Jul,1994

[0 after 0 votes]
5257177
Bach et al.

Oct,1993

[0 after 0 votes]
5088020
Nishida et al.

Feb,1992

[0 after 0 votes]
5065326
Sahm

Nov,1991

[0 after 0 votes]
4947336
Froyd

Aug,1990

[0 after 0 votes]
4945221
Nielsen et al.

Jul,1990

[0 after 0 votes]
4924374
Middleton et al.

May,1990

[0 after 0 votes]
4910673
Narisawa et al.

Mar,1990

[0 after 0 votes]
4888890
Studebaker et al.

Dec,1989

[0 after 0 votes]
4884939
Nielsen

Dec,1989

[0 after 0 votes]
4866641
Nielsen et al.

Sep,1989

[0 after 0 votes]
4829418
Nielsen et al.

May,1989

[0 after 0 votes]
4805086
Nielsen et al.

Feb,1989

[0 after 0 votes]
4771389
Takahashi et al.

Sep,1988

[0 after 0 votes]
4758970
Keary et al.

Jul,1988

[0 after 0 votes]
4733355
Davidson et al.

Mar,1988

[0 after 0 votes]
4726682
Harms et al.

Feb,1988

[0 after 0 votes]
4722044
Heiser et al.

Jan,1988

[0 after 0 votes]
4698570
Satoh

Oct,1987

[0 after 0 votes]
4693598
Sehr

Sep,1987

[0 after 0 votes]
4633383
Omachi et al.

Dec,1986

[0 after 0 votes]
4600997
Cain et al.

Jul,1986

[0 after 0 votes]
4535699
Buhler

Aug,1985

[0 after 0 votes]
4514796
Saulters et al.

Apr,1985

[0 after 0 votes]
4491927
Bachmann et al.

Jan,1985

[0 after 0 votes]
4452078
Formanek et al.

Jun,1984

[0 after 0 votes]
4413684
Duncklee

Nov,1983

[0 after 0 votes]
4377043
Inui et al.

Mar,1983

[0 after 0 votes]
4286386
Long

Sep,1981

[0 after 0 votes]
4288196
Sutton, II

Sep,1981

[0 after 0 votes]
4273196
Etsusaki et al.

Jun,1981

[0 after 0 votes]
4231700
Studebaker

Nov,1980

[0 after 0 votes]
4162708
Johnson

Jul,1979

[0 after 0 votes]
4129224
Teach

Dec,1978

[0 after 0 votes]
4050171
Teach

Sep,1977

[0 after 0 votes]
4034490
Teach

Jul,1977

[0 after 0 votes]
3997071
Teach

Dec,1976

[0 after 0 votes]
3887012
Scholl et al.

Jun,1975

[0 after 0 votes]
3813171
Teach et al.

May,1974

[0 after 0 votes]
3727332
Zimmer

Apr,1973

[0 after 0 votes]
3708232
Walsh

Jan,1973

[0 after 0 votes]
3636325
Chytil

Jan,1972

[0 after 0 votes]
3283230
Davies et al.

Nov,1966

[0 after 0 votes]
 Foreign References
 Other References
 Market Review Submit all comments and votes
   
Market Size
Estimate the gross annual revenues of the relevant market sector:
> $10B
$5B - $10B
$2B - $5B
$500M - $2B
$100M - $500M
$10M - $100M
$1M - $10M
$500K - $1M
$100K - $500K
< $100K
[No votes]
$0
 
$0   $2.5B   $5B   $7.5B   $10B
Market Share
Estimate the percentage of the relevant market sector this invention will capture:
75% - 100%
50% - 74.99%
25% - 49.99%
10 - 24.99%
5 - 9.99%
2 - 4.99%
1 - 1.99%
< 1%
[No votes]
0.0%
 
0%   25%   50%   75%   100%
Reasonable Royalty
What percentage of gross sales should the inventor or assignee be paid?
75% - 100%
50% - 74.99%
25% - 49.99%
10 - 24.99%
5 - 9.99%
2 - 4.99%
1 - 1.99%