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IndicatorIndicator description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070186491, Indicator. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional to U.S. patent application Ser. 10/698,856, filed 31 Oct. 2003, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119 (e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/425,385, filed 12 Nov. 2002 each application hereby incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] This invention relates to indicators and, in particular, this invention relates to devices for indicating locations of sites over which a substantially flowable material will subsequently be applied. [0004] 2. Background of the Invention [0005] Standard construction practice often involves installing devices such as floor drain, floor cleanout, and electrical box, then forming a floor by applying a layer of concrete. Before the concrete harden, the floor is finished to desired depths and contours around these devices. Often a finished floor covering such as tile or linoleum is then applied over the concrete. The devices must be situated and the concrete formed so that the devices are accessible and so that liquids will flow into them if they are drains. To this end, many of these fixtures must be substantially level with, or slightly above, the final surfaces of the cement slab. [0006] Ideally, openings into the devices are blocked with tape or by some other method so that the concrete will not flow into the devices when being poured. Then, the locations of the devices are noted by persons installing the concrete. The concrete is then poured, leveled, and contoured to expose and provide drainage to the devices if desired. After the cement has been poured but before finishing, the locations of a these devices are not readily ascertainable by visual inspection or memory. Moreover, persons responsible for finishing the concrete do not have access to detailed plans and/or are not present when the fixtures were installed and the layer of concrete was applied. However, if the locations of the installed devices become unknown when concrete is being poured, portions of the concrete must often be removed until the fixtures are located. Then, more concrete must be poured to form a floor with the desired contours and depths around these devices. To this end, large inefficient amounts of time and effort are often required to locate fixtures buried and invisible beneath hardened concrete and to reform floors to required depths and contours around these devices. [0007] In order for construction to proceed efficiently and economically these devices must be readily identified so that cement can be formed to required depths and contours with minimum amounts of time and effort. Therefore, a cost effective, reliable device and method for locating fixtures beneath poured, but yet unhardened, concrete is needed. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] This invention substantially meets the aforementioned needs of the industry by providing a device and method for identifying locations of devices as concrete is poured and finished. [0009] The present invention provides an indicator for identifying and/or locating devices beneath a layer of materials being applied as a flowable substance, such as concrete. The device may include a basal portion and an indicator portion. The indicator portion may be disposed generally transversely with respect to the basal portion. The indicator portion may include a plurality of generally resilient strands. In one embodiment, the present locator device includes a separate vertical element and horizontal element. The vertical element possesses requisite resilience so that a portion of the vertical element will be visible above the poured concrete and so that the vertical element will return to a visible, substantially vertical orientation after the concrete layer has been applied, thereby indicating the location of the device. The basal portion may be attachable to the vertical element and may have a portion conforming to a generally horizontal surface on, or proximate, the device to be identified and/or located. [0010] There is also provided a method of indicating a site over which a substantially flowable material is being applied, the method including disposing a base of an indicator on a generally horizontal surface proximate the site such that a resilient portion of the indicator is disposed generally transversely to the indicator base and is generally vertically oriented; and adhering the indicator base to the horizontal surface. [0011] It is a feature of the present invention to include a substantially resilient indicator or vertical element. [0012] It is an advantage of the foregoing feature that, if biased from a visible, generally vertical orientation by the flowing concrete (thereby becoming invisible), the indicator will rebound back to the generally vertical orientation to again become visible, thereby indicating the location of an underlying or adjacent device. [0013] It is another advantage of the foregoing feature that the flexible, resilient indicator does not interfere or hinder pouring or finishing the concrete layer. [0014] It is another feature of the present invention to include a base conformable to a substantially horizontal surface. [0015] It is an advantage of the foregoing feature that the instant device base can be attached to a substantially horizontal surface quickly and efficiently with materials being used to block openings of devices to be located, e.g., with tape. [0016] It is yet another feature of one embodiment of the present invention to include a separate base and indicator portion. [0017] It is an advantage of the foregoing feature that the separate base and indicator portion enable the present device to be easily, quickly, and efficiently manufactured, shipped, stored, and assembled. [0018] It is yet another advantage of the foregoing feature that the separate base and indicator portion can be made from different materials for optimized economy and end use utility. [0019] It is still yet another feature of another embodiment of the present invention to include a plurality of strands. [0020] It is an advantage of the foregoing feature that the plurality of strands may impart required stiffness and resilience thereto. [0021] These and other object, feature, and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the description which follow, when considered in view of the accompanying drawings. Continue reading about Indicator... Full patent description for Indicator Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Indicator patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Indicator or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Sound resistant enclosure Next Patent Application: Lifting fixture for concrete structures Industry Class: Static structures (e.g., buildings) ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Indicator patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.14339 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Electronics: Semiconductor , Audio , Illumination , Connectors , Crypto , 174 |
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