The present invention comprises a retractable rule assembly that includes a housing assembly and a reel rotatably mounted in the housing assembly. An elongated blade formed of a ribbon of metal is mounted on the reel. One end of the blade is connected to the reel. The blade is constructed and arranged with respect to the housing assembly to extend from a position tangential to the reel outwardly through a spaced opening in the housing assembly. A coil spring that is formed of a ribbon of metal has a construction and arrangement between the housing assembly and the reel to rotate the reel in the housing assembly in a direction to wind the elongated blade about the reel when the blade is extending outwardly of the housing assembly opening. The blade has a “normal” concavo-convex cross-sectional configuration when extended and has a flat cross-sectional configuration when it is wound about the reel so that the wound reel is disposed about the reel in an abutting volute coil formation. A blade holding assembly is provided which can hold the blade in any position of extension outwardly of the housing assembly opening and to release the blade from any position in which it is held. The blade has a width in its flattened configuration thereof within the range of 1.10″-1.5″ and a height in its concavo-convex configuration thereof within the range of 0.25″-0.40″.
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0. 18. A retractable rule assembly comprising
a housing assembly;
a reel rotatably mounted in said housing assembly;
an elongated blade formed of a ribbon of metal wound about said reel and arranged with respect to said housing assembly to extend outwardly through an opening in said housing assembly;
a coil spring formed of a ribbon of metal and cooperable with said reel to rotate said reel in said housing assembly in a direction to wind up the elongated blade when extending outwardly of said housing assembly opening in a normal concavo-convex cross-sectional configuration onto said reel in an abutting volute coil formation in a flattened cross-sectional configuration; and
a blade holder configured to hold the blade in any position of extension outwardly of said housing assembly opening and to release the blade from any position in which it is held,
said elongated metal blade being made of steel and having a width in said flattened configuration thereof having a dimension within the range of approximately 1.25″-1.39″, and a height in the concavo-convex configuration thereof having a dimension within the range of approximately 0.30″-35″.
1. A retractable rule assembly comprising
a housing assembly;
a reel rotatably mounted in said housing assembly;
an elongated blade formed of a ribbon of metal having one end connected to said reel constructed and arranged with respect to said housing assembly to extend from a position tangential to said reel outwardly through a spaced opening in said housing assembly;
a coil spring formed of a ribbon of metal having a construction and arrangement between said housing assembly and said reel to rotate said reel in said housing assembly in a direction to wind up the elongated blade when extending outwardly of said housing assembly opening in a normal concavo-convex cross-sectional configuration onto said reel in an abutting volute coil formation in a flattened cross-sectional configuration; and
a blade holding assembly constructed and arranged to be manually actuated to hold the blade in any position of extension outwardly of said housing assembly opening and to release the blade from any position in which it is held;
said elongated metal blade being made of steel and having a width in said flattened configuration thereof having a dimension within the range of approximately 1.25″-1.39″, and a height in the concavo-convex configuration thereof having a dimension within the range of 0.30″-35″.
0. 32. A retractable rule assembly comprising
a housing assembly;
a reel rotatably mounted in said housing assembly;
an elongated blade formed of a ribbon of metal wound about said reel and arranged with respect to said housing assembly to extend outwardly through an opening in said housing assembly;
a coil spring formed of a ribbon of metal and cooperable with said reel to rotate said reel in said housing assembly in a direction to wind up the elongated blade when extending outwardly of said housing assembly opening in a normal concavo-convex cross-sectional configuration onto said reel in an abutting volute coil formation in a flattened cross-sectional configuration; and
a blade holder configured to hold the blade in any position of extension outwardly of said housing assembly opening and to release the blade from any position in which it is held;
said elongated metal blade having a width in said flattened configuration thereof having a dimension of approximately 1.25″ and a height in the concavo-convex configuration thereof having a dimension within the range of 0.30″-0.35″;
said elongated metal blade being made of steel and having a top concave surface of the blade printed with measuring lines and digits;
said concavo-convex cross-sectional configuration having an arcuate central section having a radius of curvature of approximately 0.30″ to approximately 0.60″, and two integrally formed end sections on opposite sides of said central section with a different configuration than said central section.
0. 23. A retractable rule assembly comprising
a housing assembly;
a reel rotatably mounted in said housing assembly;
an elongated blade formed of a ribbon of metal wound about said reel and arranged with respect to said housing assembly to extend outwardly through an opening in said housing assembly;
a coil spring formed of a ribbon of metal cooperable with said reel to rotate said reel in said housing assembly in a direction to wind up the elongated blade when extending outwardly of said housing assembly opening in a normal concavo-convex cross-sectional configuration onto said reel in an abutting volute coil formation in a flattened cross-sectional configuration; and
a blade holder configured to hold the blade in any position of extension outwardly of said housing assembly opening and to release the blade from any position in which it is held,
said elongated metal blade having a width in said flattened configuration thereof having a dimension within the range of approximately 1.25″-1.39″ and a height in the concavo-convex configuration thereof having a dimension within the range of 0.25″-0.40″;
said elongated metal blade being made of steel and having a top concave surface of the blade printed with measuring lines and digits,
said concavo-convex cross-sectional configuration having an arcuate central section having a radius of curvature of approximately 0.30″ to approximately 0.60″, and two integrally formed end sections on opposite sides of said central section with a different configuration than said central section.
9. A retractable rule assembly comprising
a housing assembly;
a reel rotatably mounted in said housing assembly;
an elongated blade formed of a ribbon of metal having one end connected to said reel constructed and arranged with respect to said housing assembly to extend from a position tangential to said reel outwardly through a spaced opening in said housing assembly;
a coil spring formed of a ribbon of metal having a construction and arrangement between said housing assembly and said reel to rotate said reel in said housing assembly in a direction to wind up the elongated blade when extending outwardly of said housing assembly opening in a normal concavo-convex cross-sectional configuration onto said reel in an abutting volute coil formation in a flattened cross-sectional configuration; and
a blade holding assembly constructed and arranged to be manually actuated to hold the blade in any position of extension outwardly of said housing assembly opening and to release the blade from any position in which it is held;
said elongated metal blade having a width in said flattened configuration thereof having a dimension of approximately 1.25″ and a height in the concavo-convex configuration thereof having a dimension within the range of 0.30″-0.35″;
said elongated metal blade being made of steel and having a top concave surface of the blade printed with measuring lines and digits;
said concavo-convex cross-sectional configuration having an arcuate central section having a radius of curvature of approximately 0.30″ to approximately 0.60″, and two integrally formed end sections on opposite sides of said central section with a different configuration than said central section.
3. A retractable rule assembly comprising
a housing assembly;
a reel rotatably mounted in said housing assembly;
an elongated blade formed of a ribbon of metal having one end connected to said reel constructed and arranged with respect to said housing assembly to extend from a position tangential to said reel outwardly through a spaced opening in said housing assembly;
a coil spring formed of a ribbon of metal having a construction and arrangement between said housing assembly and said reel to rotate said reel in said housing assembly in a direction to wind up the elongated blade when extending outwardly of said housing assembly opening in a normal concavo-convex cross-sectional configuration onto said reel in an abutting volute coil formation in a flattened cross-sectional configuration; and
a blade holding assembly constructed and arranged to be manually actuated to hold the blade in any position of extension outwardly of said housing assembly opening and to release the blade from any position in which it is held;
said elongated metal blade having a width in said flattened configuration thereof having a dimension within the range of approximately 1.25″-1.39″ and a height in the concavo-convex configuration thereof having a dimension within the range of 0.25″-0.40″;
said elongated metal blade being made of steel and having a top concave surface of the blade printed with measuring lines and digits;
said concavo-convex cross-sectional configuration having an arcuate central section having a radius of curvature of approximately 0.30″ to approximately 0.60″, and two integrally formed end sections on opposite sides of said central section with a different configuration than said central section.
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This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/366,781, filed Aug. 4, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,324,769, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention is generally related to retractable tape rule assemblies and more particularly to tape rule assemblies of the spring retractable type.
Spring retractable rule assemblies have been available commercially for many years. It is also known in the tape rule industry to provide a concavo-convex tape rule blade with a standard width dimension of ¼″, ½″, ¾″ or 1″, with a height dimension as high as 0.226″ as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,462 to Rutty et al. There always exists a need to provide a retractable rule assembly that presents new and innovative blade configurations.
The present invention comprises a retractable rule assembly that includes a housing assembly and a reel rotatably mounted in the housing assembly. An elongated blade formed of a ribbon of metal is mounted on the reel. One end of the blade is connected to the reel. The blade is constructed and arranged with respect to the housing assembly to extend from a position tangential to the reel outwardly through a spaced opening in the housing assembly. A coil spring that is formed of a ribbon of metal has a construction and arrangement between the housing assembly and the reel to rotate the reel in the housing assembly in a direction to wind the elongated blade about the reel when the blade is extending outwardly of the housing assembly opening. The blade has a “normal” concavo-convex cross-sectional configuration when extended and has a flat cross-sectional configuration when it is wound about the reel so that the wound reel is disposed about the reel in an abutting volute coil formation. A blade holding assembly is provided which can hold the blade in any position of extension outwardly of the housing assembly opening and to release the blade from any position in which it is held. The blade has a width in its flattened configuration thereof within the range of 1.10″-1.5″ and a height in its concavo-convex configuration thereof within the range of 0.25″-0.40″.
It is also contemplated to provide a wide range of tape assembly embodiments having increased blade standout. More particularly, in the more specific aspects of the present invention, it is a further objective to provide a retractable rule assembly having a blade constructed according to the principles briefly described above to provide the improved standout characteristics previously described with any combination of the following additional features:
In the broader aspects of the present invention, it is an objective to provide any known retractable rule assembly with improved blade standout by constructing a blade therefor to have the blade cross-sectional geometry briefly described above and/or the blade dimensions as previously described.
These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.
The blade 16 is formed of a ribbon of metal, the preferred metal being steel, and the top concave surface of the blade is printed with measuring lines and digits (not shown) for measuring lengths and distances. One longitudinal end 18 of the blade 16 is connected to the reel 14 and a second longitudinal free end 20 of the blade 16 extends generally outwardly of the reel 14. The blade 16 is constructed and arranged with respect to the housing assembly 12 to extend generally from a position tangential of the reel 14 outwardly through a spaced opening 22 provided in the housing assembly 12 (as shown, for example, in FIG. 4).
Preferably the reel 14 is made of a molded plastic and is provided with slots or openings 24, 26 in a central cylindrical wall portion 28 thereof. The one end 18 of the blade terminates in a hook-like structure 30 that hookingly engages an edge of the wall portion 28 of the reel 14 at opening 24 to connect the end 18 of the blade 16 to the reel 14 (
A coil spring 32 has a construction and arrangement between the housing assembly 12 and the reel 14 to rotate the reel 14 with respect to the housing assembly 12 in a direction to wind the elongated blade 16 about the reel when the blade 16 is extending outwardly of the housing assembly opening 22. The coil spring 32 is generally enclosed within the central wall portion 28 of the reel 14 (FIGS. 4-6). One longitudinal end 35 of the coil spring 32 hookingly engages an edge of the wall portion 28 of the reel 14 that defines the opening 26; a second longitudinal end 37 of the blade 16 hookingly engages the spindle 15. The spindle 15 is rigidly mounted to the housing assembly 12 in a manner considered in detail below. Preferably the spring 32 is a thin, flat ribbon of metal, the preferred metal being steel.
The blade 16 is generally movable between a fully retracted position outwardly of the housing assembly 12 to a fully extended position. The fully retracted position of the blade 16 is shown in FIG. 4 and the fully extended position of the blade is shown (in fragmentary view) in FIG. 5. It can be appreciated from a comparison of FIG. 4 and
The blade 16 is constructed of a ribbon of sheet metal that is shaped during the manufacturing to have a normal or memory configuration that has a generally arcuate or concavo-convex transverse cross-section. When a portion of the blade 16 is wound about the reel 14, the wound portion has a flat transverse cross-section (
The concavo-convex cross-section of the blade generally provides the unsupported blade 16 with blade standout. As described in greater detail below, the blade 16 has a blade width, thickness and height of concavo-convex curvature sufficient to enable the blade 16 to standout arcuately a length measured along the blade of at least 10.5 feet with a horizontal linear length of standout thereof that is greater than 97 percent of the arcuate length of standout. As also described in greater detail below, the concavo-convex transverse cross-section of the blade 16 is provided with a geometry that also improves blade standout.
Generally, one skilled in the art will understand that the length of blade standout depends on many factors, including (but not limited to) blade width (i.e. the transverse width of the blade measured when the blade is in its flattened condition shown, for example, in FIG. 8 and designated F); the height of the blade 16 in the concavo-convex configuration (designated H in FIG. 7); blade thickness (designated T in FIG. 7); and the geometry of the blade transverse cross-section when the same is in its normal concavo-convex than configuration. The blade 12 has a width in the flattened condition thereof having a dimension within the broad range of from approximately 1.10 inches to approximately 1.5 inches and a height H in the concavo-convex configuration thereof having a dimension within the broad range of approximately 0.25 inch to approximately 0.40 inch. Preferably, the blade 12 has a thickness in either configuration thereof within the broad range of approximately 0.0045 inch to approximately 0.0063 inch. More preferably, the blade 12 has a width in the flattened condition thereof having a dimension within the narrower range of from approximately 1.25 inches to approximately 1.39 inches; a height H in the concavo-convex configuration thereof having a dimension within the narrower range of approximately 0.30 inch to approximately 0.35 inch; and a thickness in either configuration thereof having a dimension within the narrower range of approximately 0.005 inch to approximately 0.0056 inch. Most preferably the blade 16 width is approximately 1.25 inch, the blade height H is approximately 0.32 inch and the blade thickness T is approximately 0.0051 inch. A blade constructed according to these principles has a blade standout of up to approximately 13 feet. More specifically, a blade construction having dimensions within the broadest ranges identified immediately above for the width F, height H and thickness T can have a blade standout in the preferred broad range of at least 10.5 feet to approximately 13 feet; a blade construction having dimensions within the more referred narrower ranges identified immediately above for the width F, height H and thickness T can have a blade standout in the range of at least 10.5 feet to approximately 12.5 feet; and a blade construction having the most preferred dimensions identified immediately above for the width F, height H and thickness T has a blade standout of approximately 11 feet.
The concavo-convex cross-section of the blade 16 has a unique geometry (shown in
Preferably the arcuate central section 36 has a radius of curvature R2 that is a dimension within the broad range of approximately 0.30″ to approximately 0.60″; and the radius of curvature R1 of each end section 38 is a dimension within the broad range of approximately 1.0″ to approximately 5.0″. More preferably the arcuate central section 36 has a radius of curvature R2 that is a dimension within the narrower range of approximately 0.40″ to approximately 0.50″ and the radius of curvature R1 of each end section 38 is a dimension within the narrower range of approximately 2.0″ to approximately 4.0″. Most preferably, the arcuate central section 36 has a radius of curvature R2 of approximately 0.46″ and the radius of curvature of each end section R1 is approximately 3.0″.
The transverse cross-sections of prior art tape blades are either constant curves (i.e., constant radius of curvature) or are constant curves in the center of the blade with straight (i.e. flat) sections at each transverse end of the cross-section when the blade is extended. Blades constructed to have either these basic cross-sections are less stable during blade standout and show a greater tendency to buckle than blades having cross-sections constructed according to the present invention.
The embodiment of the rule assembly constructed according to the principles of the present invention shown in
The last five columns in
Arcuate length-out is represented by arcuate line C in FIG. 10 and is a measure of the total length of the extended portion of the blade. Linear length-out is designated B in FIG. 10 and is a measure of the linear length of the protection of the extended blade on an imaginary horizontal surface below the tape assembly 10. Line A designates the height the housing assembly 10 is required to be above the horizontal surface when the housing assembly 12 is angularly oriented with respect to the surface at an angle D to position the arcuately extending blade so that the free end thereof just touches the surface. Thus, angle D generally represents the degree of tape rule housing assembly rotation (with respect to the horizontally extending surface) required to achieve maximum standout for a given length of extended tape.
The comparison of the prior art and the present invention given in
It can be understood by one skilled in the art that the 1.25 inch blade width of a preferred embodiment of the assembly 10 allows the blade height H to be increased without increasing the overall blade curvature to a degree that would make reading the gradations and lettering printed on the concave surface of the blade 16 difficult. This construction results in a blade with relatively high height H that is also easy to read. (In contrast, one inch blades having a curve height of the extended blade of over 0.21 become very difficult to read and are thus not commercially practical.) Increasing the blade width of the blade of the present invention also allows the printing on the blade to be made larger, thus making measurements easier by making the blade easier to read. When the preferred 1.25 inch blade (flat width F) is in its concavo-convex cross-sectional configuration (FIG. 7), the height H thereof, as mentioned above, is approximately 0.32 inch and the curved or arcuate width W is approximately 1.018 inches. This relatively wide width W of the extended blade also facilitates reading a measurement from the blade 16.
The blade of the rule assembly 10 is thus able to achieve the approximately 11 feet of standout while improving the percent of linear to arcuate length-out relative to the prior art. This length of standout is achieved while the bottom surface of the housing is angled approximately 45 degrees with respect to the horizontal surface S (as indicated in the right most column of
One skilled in the art will appreciate that when the rule assembly 10 is provided with a 33 foot long blade, a coil spring 32 must be provided to accommodate outward movement of the blade 16 to its fully extended position. It can be appreciated that it is desirable to construct a rule assembly 10 so that the housing assembly 12 is small enough and compact enough to fit easily in one hand of a user. Because the rule assembly 10 has a wide blade, the width of the housing assembly 12 is comparably wide. It is desirable to construct a retractable rule assembly 10 so that the height and length of the housing assembly 12 (also called the “footprint” of the housing assembly 12) are as small as possible. Because both the spring 32 and the blade 16 can be quite long in some embodiments of the invention (up to approximately 33 feet of blade length, for example), the spring 32 must be carefully constructed so that it provides sufficient spring forced to retract the fully extended blade and yet fits within a housing assembly 12 having a footprint that is dimensioned to easily fit in a user's hand.
The coil spring is constructed of a coiled ribbon of metal (typically steel). The spring force provided by the spring is approximately directly proportional to the spring width and the spring thickness. A thick spring undesirably increases the height and length of the housing assembly 12, however. It has been found that the most desirable construction of a rule assembly constructed according to the principles of the present invention has a coil spring that is relatively thin and relatively wide compared to prior art springs. Preferably the spring 32 of the rule assembly 10 has a width that is approximately 95 percent to approximately 120 percent of the width of the blade (for a given blade width in the broad range set forth above for the flattened blade). More preferably, the spring has a width that is approximately 100 percent to approximately 110 percent of the width of the metal ribbon of the blade, and is most preferably 100% of (i.e., equal to) the blade width (as shown in FIG. 9). Because the spring width is relatively great, the spring can be made the same thickness as or thinner than the blade 16. The reduction in the spring thickness relative to blade thickness (as compared to the prior art), allows the housing assembly 12 to be constructed so that it has a minimal footprint to provide a housing assembly 12 that can be easily gripped in one hand.
Typical springs used with prior art one-inch blades have a width that is less than the width of the blade, usually in the range of 0.8 to 0.89 inch.
It can thus the understood that the relatively wide spring allows the thickness of the spring to remain relatively small and this allows the footprint of the housing assembly to be small enough to be easily gripped in a single hand of the most users. More specifically, preferably, when the spring width is approximately equal to the blade width, the spring 32 of the present invention is 0 percent to 10 percent thinner than the blade 16. As another example, if the spring 32 is made one hundred twenty percent the width of the blade 16, the spring 32 is preferably 0 percent to 25 percent of thinner than the blade. In terms of actual measurement, this means that typically the spring thickness is up to 0.0005 inch thinner than the thickness of the blade. Furthermore, because the spring of the present invention is made wide relative to the width of the blade, the overall length of the spring can be made shorter relative to the length of the prior art springs for comparable measuring blade 16 lengths. For example, a typical one inch wide, 25 foot long prior art blade has a spring that is approximately 240 inches in length; the length of a wide spring 32 constructed according to the principles of the present invention for the rule assembly 10 having a 25 foot blade is approximately 230 inches.
By increasing the spring width of the spring 16, the thickness of the spring can be decreased and the length decreased while still providing sufficient spring force to retreat the blade without increasing the footprint of the housing assembly to an undesirable degree. Examples of specific housing assembly 12 heights for particular blade lengths will be considered below after other structural details of the construction of the rule assembly 10 are considered.
The housing assembly 12 is further constructed to easily and comfortably fit in a hand of the user because it optimizes the use of space within the housing assembly 12 to house the blade 16, coil spring and other cooperating components. The details of the internal structure of the housing assembly 12 and the blade 16 mounted therein are shown in
When the housing members 40, 42 are fixed together in the assembled rule assembly 10, the free edges 52, 54 are interengaged as shown in
Preferably the fixed spindle 15 is constructed of a molded plastic or nylon. The construction of the recess-projection connections 75 between the ends of the spindle 15 and the walls 44, 46 is shown in cross-section in FIG. 6. Each recess-projection connection 75 is identical. Specifically, projections 74 having exterior noncircular cross-sections are integrally formed on the walls 44, 46 and are received within recesses 76 having complementary non-circular interior cross-sections formed on each end of the spindle 15. The noncircular interior and exterior cross-sections cooperate to present rotation of the spindle 15 with respect to the housing assembly 12 when the ends of the spindle 15 are mounted on the projections 74 in the assembled rule assembly 10. Each end of the spindle 15 extends through a hole 79 of circular cross-section formed in opposite sides of the reel 14. The portions of the spindle 15 that extend through the holes 79 in the reel 14 have circular exterior cross sections. A flange 81 on the spindle 15 engages an annular groove 83 in the reel 14 surrounding the hole 79 to guide the rotation of the reel on the spindle. Thus, the reel 14 is rotatably mounted on the spindle 15 for bidirectional rotational movement of the reel with respect to the housing assembly 12. As can best be appreciated from
The molded plastic reel 14 includes two reel members 78, 80 (FIG. 6). Reel member 78 includes the integral cylindrical wall portion 28 about which the blade 12 is wound. Reel member 80 is essentially disk shaped. Each reel member 78, 80 includes an outwardly extending cylindrical wall portion 88, 90, respectively, formed around the hole 79. An annular edge portion 84 on the wall portion 82 is received within an annular groove 86 formed within reel member 80 to help hold the reel 14 together. The abutting engagement of the wall portions 88, 90 on the reel with the end walls 44, 46 of the housing assembly 12 maintain the edge portion 84 within the groove 86 in the assembled rule assembly.
The housing members 40, 42 include portions along the abutting free edges thereof 52, 54, respectively, of tongue and groove construction (
When viewed from the side elevational view, the housing assembly 12 includes only two corner portions (see
This arrangement of the bolts helps reduce the size of the footprint of the housing assembly 12 to allow the housing assembly 12 for a 33-foot long blade constructed according to the principles of the invention to have up to 13 feet of blade standout, for example, to easily fit in a hand of a user. Specifically, it is within the scope of the invention to provide tape assemblies constructed according to the principles taught herein wherein the height (and length) of the housing assembly does not substantially exceed 3.65 inches for a blade length that is at most approximately 33 feet; wherein the height (and length) of the housing assembly does not substantially exceed 3.45 inches for a blade length that is at most approximately 30 feet; and wherein the height (and length) of the housing assembly does not substantially exceed 3.25 inches for a blade length that is at most approximately 8 meters.
As best appreciated from
A peripheral portion of housing assembly 12 is provided with a rubber-like coating 110 around the gripped portion of the housing assembly 12 to provide increased frictional engagement between the housing assembly and a user's hand and to provide a relatively soft comfortable surface for the user's hand.
The housing assembly 12 includes a bottom wall 109 (
The housing assembly includes a fitment 118 (
A holding assembly, generally designated to 124, is constructed and arranged to be manually actuated to hold the blade 16 in any portion of extension outwardly of the housing assembly opening 22 and to release the blade 16 from any position in which it is held. The structure and operation of the holding assembly 124 is best appreciated from a comparison of
Preferably the holding member 126 is an integral structure made of an appropriate durable flexible plastic. The thumb engaging portion 132 is connected by an integral outwardly extending neck portion 134 to an elongated arcuate flexible body portion 133 that terminates in the interior free end 128. The outwardly extending portion 134 is slidably held within and guided by a slot 136 formed within a front part of housing assembly 12 by the members 40, 42. The movement of a lower portion of the holding member 126 is guided by a pair of tabs 131 integrally formed on respective housing members 40, 42 (only one tab is shown in the figure). An integral locking structure 138 on the holding member 126 engages holding structure 140 (
More specifically, to lock the blade 16 in a given position of extension, the user (while holding the blade 16 outwardly of the housing assembly 12 against the spring force of the coil spring 32) slides the thumb engaging portion 132 downwardly with respective to the housing assembly 12 causing the locking structure 138 to slide over a ramped surface 142 on the holding structure 140 and causing the free end 128 to move in a locking direction with respect to the blade 16. The flexible plastic locking structure 138 bends resiliently outwardly slightly as it passes over the holding structure 140. After the free end 128 contacts the blade 16, continued movement of the thumb engaging portion 132 in the locking (downward) direction thereafter wedges the free end 128 of the flexible body portion 133 against blade 16 to hold the blade 16 in place against the spring force of the coil spring 32 and moves the locking structure 138 into abutting engagement with a locking surface 141 on the holding structure 140. The holding member flexes slightly as the free end 128 is wedged against the blade 16. The abutting engagement between the locking structure 138 and the locking surface 141 locks the holding member 126 in its holding position. It can be understood from
To release the blade 16, the user pulls upwardly on the thumb engaging portion 132 which causes the locking structure 138 on the plastic holding member 126 to move resiliently outwardly and past the locking surface 141 to release the holding member 126 from engagement with a blade 16. The holding member 126 resiliently returns to its normal arcuate shape. It can be appreciated from
It can be understood that the use of the holding member 126 when a measurement is being taken is optional. When taking a measurement, the user typically holds the housing assembly 12 in one hand and manually pulls the blade 16 out of the housing assembly 12 with the other hand. When a sufficient length of blade 16 has been withdrawn from the hosing assembly 12, the user can lock the blade 16 with respect to the housing assembly 12 using the holding member 126 to prevent the blade 16 from retracting back into the housing assembly 12 (under the spring force of spring 32) when the user releases the blade 16. When the measurement has been taken, the user simply releases the holding member 126 from holding engagement with the blade 16 by moving the free end 128 thereof out of wedging engagement with the blade 16 in the manner described above. If the holding member 126 is not used during the taking of a measurement, the user can simply hold the blade 16 with his other hand while the measurement is being taken or, alternatively, the hook member 34 can be placed in hooking engagement with the workpiece to hold the blade 16 outwardly of the housing assembly 12 in a controlled and steady manner against the spring force of spring 32 while the measurement is being taken.
When the blade 16 is released after taking the measurement, the spring 32 rotates the reel 14 with respect to the housing assembly 12 in a blade-winding direction to wind the blade 16 around the reel 14. A relatively short free end portion of the blade 16 has a clear film 158 of plastic material adhered to the concave side thereof (
Preferably the self adhering film 158 is placed over several leading inches (preferably within a broad range of approximately 2 inches to approximately 12 inches) of the free end 20 of the blade 16, including the portion of the blade on which the hook member 34 is disposed so that preferably the film goes under the hook member 34 all the way to the free end 20 of the blade 16. More preferably, the film 158 is applied a length from the free end 20 of the blade 16 that is less than 10.5 inches; and most preferably, the length of the blade 16 from the free end thereof that is covered by the film 158 is approximately 6 incehs. It is generally desirable to have the film-covered portion end at approximately the point on the blade 16 where the volutes of the coiled blade are in overlying relation to one another when the blade 16 is in its fully retracted configuration. Typically in a tape rule assembly, the tape blade starts to warp on itself at approximately 9.5 inches when a typical reel size of approximately 2.9 inches in outer diameter is used in the construction. The film 158 is provided because most failures in a rule blade 16 occur within the first six inches of the free end of the blade 16 from cracks or tearing. The cracks or tearing occur because when the blade is wound back around reel under the spring force of the coil spring, the free end of the blade tends to “whip” as it enters the opening 22, causing the last several inches of the blade 16 to hit against the housing assembly 12. This can cause cracking or breaking of the free end of the blade 16 over time. The protective film 158 prevents these cracks and tears and other damage to the blade 16 associated with blade whipping.
The free end of the blade 16 is frequently handled by the user and this handling can over time cause the numbering and markings on the concave side of the blade 16 to wear off or become difficult to read. The film 158 prevents this damage because it covers the numbering and markings on the free end of the blade and thereby protects the same from being worn off.
The construction of the hook member 34 and the manner in which it is disposed on the free end 20 of the blade 16 is best seen in
More specifically, the mounting portion 150 is provided with large holes 167 (
The U-shaped hook portion 152 includes a bight section 160 extending transversely downwardly from a convex side of the free end of the blade 16 and spaced leg sections 162 extending beyond transversely spaced corners 171 of the free end of the blade. The bight section 160 of the hook portion 152 of the hook member 34 provides an under-catch structure that can hookingly engage a workpiece to facilitate extension of the blade 16 and to temporarily secure the blade to the workpiece while a measurement is being taken. As can be appreciated from
The upper portions of the leg sections 162 extend generally upwardly and outwardly above the concave side of the blade 16 (
It can also be appreciated from
Preferably, the housing opening 22 has a height dimension that extends the height dimension of the hook member mounting portion 150 and its connection with the free end of the blade 16 by an amount which is at least approximately equal to the amount the hook portion 152 of the hook member 34 extends below a bottom end surface 170 of the housing assembly 12 at the housing opening 22 when the hook member 34 is at the housing opening 22 (FIG. 11). This height of the opening 22 is provided to prevent possible damage to the hook member 34 when the blade 16 is fully retracted and the hook member 34 is impacted (by dropping or the like) in a direction that tends to move the hook member 34 upwardly with respect to the opening 22.
The details of the construction of the housing opening 22 can be appreciated from
It can be appreciated from
The opening 22 is constructed to allow the hook member 34 to move upwardly in the opening 22 until the upper edges of the mounting portion 150 impacts structure at the top of the opening 22. More specifically, it can be appreciated from
It can be understood that the coiled blade 16 has a tendency to unwind and return to a straight (in the longitudinal direction), extended configuration of concavo-convex cross-section. This tendency provides a downward force on the free end 20 of the fully retracted blade 16 with respect to the housing assembly opening 22 that maintains the extended portion of the fully retracted blade 16 against the bottom of the housing assembly interior at the opening 22 and thereby normally maintains a portion of the hook member 34 of the fully retracted blade 16 below the bottom surface 170 of the exterior of the housing assembly 12. This allows the tape assembly user to easily hook the hook member 34 on a structure such as a workpiece because a portion of the hook member 34 is normally below the surface 170.
One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the tape rule assembly 10 shown in the figures and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting. It is within the scope of the invention to provide any known tape rule assembly with any or all of the features of the present invention. For example, the clear film of plastic material can be applied to any known tape rule assembly. Similarly, an end hook member constructed according to the principles of the present invention can be applied to any known rule assembly.
The features of the housing assembly including the molded plastic construction, the shape of the housing, the use of relatively few bolts, the elimination of bolts in the upper portion of the housing assembly, the manner in which the spindle is mounted therein, the height dimension of the housing assembly opening relative to the dimension of the downwardly extending portion of the hook member on the free end of the blade and construction of the finger engaging portion on the bottom surface of housing assembly can be used separately or in combination on any existing tape rule assembly.
Similarly, the geometry of the cross-section of the blade and the general teachings of the dimensions and construction of the blade and coil spring can be used on any existing tape rule assembly.
The construction of the fitment, including the construction of the tangentially extending transversely spaced elongated ridges thereof can be used on any known tape rule assembly. It can also be understood that even though it is preferable to construct the tape rule assembly having the ridges on a separate fitment, it is contemplated to provide an embodiment of the tape rule assembly in which the ridges are formed integrally on the housing members of the housing assembly. It can also be appreciated that it is contemplated to use any of the aforementioned features singly or in any appropriate combination on a tape rule assembly that has a spring-powered retractable blade or, alternatively, on any tape rule assembly in which the blade is manually retracted.
It can be appreciated by one skilled in the art that it is within the scope of the present invention to apply the teachings presented herein to construct a tape measure of a wide range of sizes and that it is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments or to the specific measurements or ranges of measurements presented herein. It can be understood, for example, that it is within the scope of the invention to construct a retractable tape measure assembly that includes a one inch wide (i.e., flattened width) tape blade with increased standout. Because it is contemplated to provide tape measure assemblies with the features of the invention enumerated herein separately or in any combination, it can be understood that a wide range of tape measure assemblies having one inch wide blades could be constructed. More specifically, a tape measure assembly having one inch wide blade could include for example, a cross-section blade geometry; a small footprint housing; a hook member; a protective film; a housing opening height and hook member size; and/or a fitment with transversely extending ribs all as described above in any combination.
It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. It will be realized, however, that the foregoing specific embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.
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