Stockholders' Equity (Details 1) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 01, 2012 Y	Jan. 02, 2011 Y	Jan. 03, 2010 Y
Valuation of stock options granted
Expected dividend yield
Expected volatility	36.80%	35.30%	38.80%
Risk-free interest rate	2.10%	2.40%	2.10%
Expected life in years	6.2	6.0	5.6
Employee Stock Option [Member]
Stock option transactions for Teledyne's employee stock option plans
Beginning balance, Shares	2,456,296	2,249,050	2,339,970
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Beginning balance	33.07	30.40	30.39
Granted, Shares	499,038	433,094
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Granted	47.35	42.09
Exercised, Shares	(576,575)	(179,747)	(76,517)
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Exercised	23.89	20.34	12.83
Canceled or expired, Shares	(55,914)	(46,101)	(14,403)
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Canceled or expired	42.94	36.74	28.04
Ending balance, Shares	2,322,845	2,456,296	2,249,050
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Ending Balance	38.19	33.07	30.40
Options exercisable at year-end, Shares	1,586,480	1,939,785	1,879,554
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Options exercisable at year-end	34.79	30.19	27.29
Non-Employee Stock Option Plan [Member]
Stock option transactions for Teledyne's employee stock option plans
Beginning balance, Shares	440,825	418,817	392,002
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Beginning balance	28.15	26.66	25.53
Granted, Shares	42,759	41,364	42,483
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Granted	45.19	39.53	30.66
Exercised, Shares	(78,892)	(17,356)	(15,668)
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Exercised	13.31	14.55	9.26
Canceled or expired, Shares		(2,000)
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Canceled or expired		14.75
Ending balance, Shares	404,692	440,825	418,817
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Ending Balance	32.85	28.15	26.66
Options exercisable at year-end, Shares	361,933	399,461	378,974
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Options exercisable at year-end	31.39	27.06	26.24