SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DUPLICATING ANGLES IN NATURE
Patent Number: US 8752304 Grant Date: 2014-06-17 Filing Date: 2011-11-09
Overview
This patented system describes a precision angle- and proportion-finding tool designed to help artists, architects, and craftspeople reproduce angles and spatial relationships from real-world subjects onto a transfer medium. Filed in November 2011 and granted on June 17, 2014, the patent protects a view window containing a pair of adjustable reticles whose intersection defines a cross-point. Inventors based in Amarillo, TX developed a compact, one-handed design that uses rotatable disks and selectable friction rings to lock reticle positions, enabling users to align the cross-point with a vertex in the scene, rotate the reticles to match the observed angle, and then transfer that aligned angle directly onto a canvas or other medium. The specification also covers using the device as a proportion finder by establishing plumb and horizontal reference lines, forming reference triangles, and rescaling by shifting vertex placement.
The firm’s drafting emphasizes practical details—disk access cuts, transparent panes for embedded fibers or engraved lines, and spacer/fastener assemblies—ensuring broad claim scope and manufacturability while addressing prior-art limits tied to computer displays or numeric scales.
Key Features
- View window with intersecting adjustable reticles for direct visual alignment
- Rotatable disks with friction rings for stable, one-handed operation
- Transfer method for marking angles and proportional reference lines
- Proportion-rescaling via movable vertex on a plumb line
By enabling reliable angle capture and proportional transfer, this invention bridges traditional artistic technique and precision measurement, with applications in fine arts, drafting, and field surveying.
Invention Details
Abstract: An angle finder method is disclosed. Said angle finder method comprises aligning a cross-point of a plurality of adjustable reticles with a vertex of an angle in an object, rotating said adjustable reticles from an initial angle to an aligned angle matching said angle in said object, and transferring said aligned angle to a transfer medium. Wherein, said plurality of adjustable reticles are held within a view window and an angle finder comprises said view window and said adjustable reticles.
Background: (1) BACKGROUND (2) This disclosure relates generally to a system and method for duplicating angles in nature. (3) The act of duplicating angles and proportions in nature is an important task for painters, artists, and architects, among others. For example, whether a painting is considered a likeness of an object or an amateur rendering of said object may be determined by how accurately a painter can reproduce the angles and proportions of said object in a painting. (4) Historically, artists are known to hold their arm out and measure angles by twisting their thumb or paint brush between a range of positions so as to get a feel for how said object should be painted. This approach has many flaws, for sure. Most notably, is inaccuracy of reproducing said angles on a canvas. The general imprecision has led to many poorly rendered paintings. (5) In U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,409, Mr. Arakawa discloses a device for use on a computer display screen to determine direction changes for graphics commands. Said device comprises a circular ring bearing indicia representing degrees around the circumference of said ring relative to a point of origin on said ring, first and second members rotatable within said ring and through which at least a portion of the computer display is visible, each of said first and second members having a straight line movable into and out of registration with the straight line on the other of said first and second members by rotation of said first and second members within said ring, said first and second members bearing indicia along the straight line corresponding to a graphics symbol centrally located of said ring, said first and second members having contrasting colors and being configured so that each forms a semicircular area in one of the contrasting colors within said ring. Arakawa, however, leave much to be desired. Not least because Arakawa disclosed a device for use on a computer display for to determine direction changes for graphics commands. Such a limitation to computer screens would not be well suited to use by painters and the like. Although Arakawa could be used in other circumstances by non-computer users, it is clear that his disclosed device is best suited for computer graphics displays. First, Arakawa does not disclose a handle for use by a painter. Neither does it disclose a means for one handed use. Further, Arakawa’s design requires a pair of translucent rings which would likely produce distracting glare if used apart from a back lit computer screen which compensates for glare by shining through the device. Also notable is the presence of numbers and icons upon the surface of said device which would interfere with operation of said device by users less concerned with numerical measurements of angles and proportions and more concerned with matching said angles and proportions for reproduction elsewhere. (6) In U.S. Pat. No. 3,925,899, Ms. Hesse discloses a graphics instrument. Said instrument is disclosed for drawing and measuring. Said instrument includes a pair
Patent Document
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