Alignment structure
View Patent ↗Two (or more) components must be aligned to each other in the pitch, roll, and azimuth axes. One component is adjustable relative to the other non-adjustable component. The pitch and roll angles are measured with a high accuracy digital protractor. The readings are taken from fixed reference points on the non-adjustable and the adjustable components, and the position of the adjusting component is modified until the pitch and roll of the adjusting component matches the pitch and roll of the non-adjusting component. The azimuth angle is measured by using two line generating lasers, one that produces a visible azimuth axis on the non-adjustable component and the other which produces the visible azimuth axis on the adjustable component. The separation of the two lines is measured such that one measurement is in close proximity to the laser generators and the other is at a distance from the laser generators. The measurements are then compared and the position of the adjustable component is adjusted as required to make the measurements the same. This allows for alignment in the azimuth axis to be achieved with rapid and high degree of accuracy with minimal training and equipment.
1. A method of aligning at least two components so that the components are aligned along at least one of three dimensional axes, comprising:
attaching a first adapter on a non-adjusting component;
placing a first line generator laser holder on the first adapter to produce a first visible line;
attaching a second adapter on an adjusting component; and
placing a second line generator laser holder on the second adapter for producing a second visible line, wherein the visible lines determine an angle of azimuth of the components.
2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
placing a digital protractor in a first position on the first adapter;
placing the digital protractor in a second position on the first adapter, the second position being oriented perpendicular to the first position; and
reading the digital protractor to determine angles of pitch and roll of the non-adjusting component.
3. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
measuring distances between the visible lines generated by the first and second laser holders at first and second positions; and
comparing the measurements at the first and second positions to determine the azimuth.
4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the step of measuring the distances at the first and second positions occurs near the line generator laser holders and away from the line generator laser holders, respectively.
5. The method according to claim 3 , further comprising adjusting the position of the adjusting component to produce the same measurements as the non-adjusting component.
6. The method according to claim 3 , further comprising placing a digital protractor in a first position on the second adapter and in a second position on the second adapter that is perpendicular to the first position, to measure the pitch and roll of the adjusting component.
7. The method according to claim 6 , further comprising:
comparing the measured pitch and roll of the adjusting component with the non-adjusting component; and
adjusting the position of the adjusting component until the measured pitch and roll of the adjusting component are the same as the non-adjusting component.
8. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the first and second adapters each includes two perpendicular grooves for fitting the digital protractor.
9. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the first and second adapters each includes a slot for fitting the corresponding line generator laser holder.
10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the laser line generator holder fitted in the slot can be rotated in increments of 90 degrees so as to measure the angles of the components that are perpendicular or opposite to a base reference line.
11. An alignment system for aligning adjustable and non-adjusting components along at least one of three dimensional axes, comprising:
a first adapter for attaching to the non-adjusting component, the first adapter having two perpendicular grooves and a slot;
a second adapter for attaching to the adjusting component, the second adapter having two perpendicular grooves and a slot that correspond in position to the grooves and slot in the first adapter;
a first laser line generator holder mountable in the slot of the first adapter for generating a first laser line;
a second laser line generator mountable in the slot of the second adapter for generating a second laser line to determine its parallelism to the first laser line; and
a digital protractor mountable in the first and second grooves of the first and second adapters to measure pitch and roll of the non-adjusting and adjusting components.
12. The alignment system according to claim 11 , wherein distances between the first and second laser lines generated by the first and second laser line generators are measured in two positions to determine an azimuth angle, wherein one position is near the laser holders and the other position is away from the laser holders.
13. The alignment system according to claim 12 , wherein the position of the adjusting component is adjusted to produce the same pitch, roll, and azimuth angles as the non-adjusting component.
14. The alignment system according to claim 1 , wherein the laser holders mountable in the slot of the adapters can be rotated in increments of 90 degrees so as to measure the angles of the components that are perpendicular or opposite to a base reference.