Method and apparatus for determining track and road surfaces and the like

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR SURFACING A SECTION OF UNCORRECTED TRACK WHICH IS ADJACENT TO A PREVIOUSLY CORRECTED SECTION OF HIGHER ELEVATION, COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, REFERENCE MEANS FOR PROJECTING TOWARD THE UNCORRECTED TRACK SECTION A HORIZONTAL BEAM OF LIGHT FROM A POINT WHICH IS AT A FIXED REFERENCE DISTANCE ABOVE THE PREVIOUSLY CORRECTED TRACK SECTION, A DETECTOR DEVICE FOR SENSING SAID LIGHT BEAM, RAIL CLAMPING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID DETECTOR DEVICE FOR MAINTAINING A VERTICAL DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID DETECTOR DEVICE AND THE UNCORRECTED TRACK SECTION WHICH IS EQUAL TO SAID REFERENCE DISTANCE, JACK MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH AND CONTROLLED BY SAID DETECTOR DEVICE FOR ELEVATING SAID RAIL CLAMPING MEANS AND SAID DETECTOR DEVICE WHILE SAID SECOND MENTIONED DISTANCE IS MAINTAINED, AND UP TO A POINT WHERE SAID DETECTOR DEVICE IS ALIGNED WITH SAID LIGHT BEAM, THEREBY CAUSING SAID UNCORRECTED TRACK TO BE ELEVATED INTO HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENT WITH SAID PREVIOUSLY CORRECTED TRACK SECTION TO PROVIDE A NEW CORRECTED TRACK SECTION, MEANS FOR MAINTAINING A FIXED HORIZONTAL DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID REFERENCE MEANS AND SAID DETECTOR DEVICE, AND MEANS FOR MAINTAINING SAID LIGHT BEAM IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE AS SAID APPARATUS IS MOVED INTO A NEW POSITION IN WHICH SAID RAIL CLAMPING MEANS OVERLIES ANOTHER UNCORRECTED TRACK SECTION.