U.S. patent application number 11/034766 was filed with the patent office on 2006-07-20 for tape measure with tape braking mechanism.
Invention is credited to Ping-Lin Lin.
Application Number | 20060156571 11/034766 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36600286 |
Filed Date | 2006-07-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060156571 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lin; Ping-Lin |
July 20, 2006 |
TAPE MEASURE WITH TAPE BRAKING MECHANISM
Abstract
A tape measure includes an enclosure including an upper unit and
a lower unit each defining a notch communicating with each other.
The upper unit forms a protrusion. Poles are respectively formed on
the upper unit and the lower unit adjacent the notches. The upper
unit forms a pair of latches on opposite sides of the notch. The
lower unit forms a pair of pivots on opposite sides of the pole. A
springloaded tape cartridge is accommodated in the enclosure and
includes a wheel, a gasket, and a gear. The first and second
elastic members are respectively rotatably attached to the pivots
of the lower unit. One end of each elastic member engages with the
gear. The button is disposed at the notches of the enclosure. A
pair of projections is formed on the button and presses opposite
ends of the first and second elastic members respectively.
Inventors: |
Lin; Ping-Lin; (Sanchung
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Top-long Industrial Co., Ltd.
P.O. Box No. 6-57, Junghe
Taipei
235
TW
|
Family ID: |
36600286 |
Appl. No.: |
11/034766 |
Filed: |
January 14, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
33/767 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01B 3/1005 20130101;
G01B 2003/101 20130101; G01B 3/1046 20200101 |
Class at
Publication: |
033/767 |
International
Class: |
G01B 3/10 20060101
G01B003/10 |
Claims
1. A tape measure comprising: an enclosure comprising an upper unit
and a lower unit, the upper unit forming a protrusion thereon,
notches being respectively defined in the upper unit and the lower
unit, poles being respectively formed on the upper unit and the
lower unit adjacent the notches, the upper unit forming a pair of
latches on opposite sides of the notch, the lower unit forming a
pair of pivots on opposite sides of the pole; a tape cartridge
accommodated in the enclosure and defining a through hole rotatably
receiving the protrusion of the upper unit to thereby attach the
tape cartridge to the enclosure, the tape cartridge comprising a
wheel, a gasket attached to the wheel, and a gear attached to the
wheel; a first elastic member rotatably attached to the pivot of
the lower unit, one end of the first elastic member engaging with
the gear of the tape cartridge; a second elastic member rotatably
attached to the pivot of the lower unit, one end of the second
elastic member engaging with the gear of the tape cartridge; and a
button being disposed at the notches of the enclosure and defining
an aperture for receiving the poles of the enclosure, at least one
face of the button forming a pair of projections for pressing
opposite ends of the first and second elastic members respectively,
a pair of elastic plates being formed in the button corresponding
to the latches of the upper unit of the enclosure.
2. The tape measure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower unit
of the enclosure forms a protrusion corresponding to the protrusion
of the upper unit.
3. The tape measure as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a
tape winding around the wheel.
4. The tape measure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first
elastic member comprises a pressing part and a spring.
5. The tape measure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second
elastic member comprises a pressing part and a spring.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] (a) Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a tape measure, and
particularly to a tape measure with an improved tape braking
mechanism.
[0003] (b) Description of the Prior Art
[0004] Taiwan Patent issue No. 517839 discloses a tape measure
which comprises an enclosure, a wheel, an operating member and a
stopping plate. The enclosure comprises an upper unit and a lower
unit each defining a notch, a guiding hole and a sliding slot. A
tape winds around the wheel received in the enclosure. The
operating member forms a releasing portion and a locking portion.
The end of the locking portion forms an extension arm defining a
locking slot. The stopping plate comprises a pair of pivots formed
at opposite sides of the top end thereof. An elastic tab is formed
at the stopping plate opposing the pivots. A protrusion is formed
at an end of the tab.
[0005] In assembly, the operating member is movably attached to the
enclosure. The locking portion and the releasing portion of the
operating member are exposed at the notches of the enclosure. The
stopping plate is received in the sliding slots of the enclosure
and the elastic tab of the stopping plate abuts against one portion
of the enclosure at the top side of the sliding slots. The pivots
of the stopping plate are pivotably received in the holes of the
enclosure to cause the top end of the stopping plate to be received
in the locking slot of the operating member and the bottom end of
the stopping plate to be adjacent to the tape. The tape can be
pulled outside the enclosure or withdrawn in the enclosure via a
user operating the operating member to drive the stopping plate to
release the tape, and can be locked via the user operating the
operating member to drive the stopping plate to lock the tape.
[0006] However, when the tape is locked or pulled outside the
enclosure, the operating member drives the stopping plate to lock
or release the tape. Friction is inevitably produced between the
stopping plate and the tape, which results in abrasion of the tape
and mistiness of the measurement indicia of the tape. Furthermore,
the stopping plate is generally made of metal material and is prone
to be abraded when used for a long time, which results in the
stopping plate being incapable of locking the tape. Thus, an
improved tape measure which overcomes the above problems is
desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to
provide a tape measure with an improved tape braking mechanism
which can reduce abrasion of the tape.
[0008] To achieve the above-mentioned object, a tape measure in
accordance with the present invention comprises an enclosure
including an upper unit and a lower unit each forming a protrusion.
Notches are respectively defined in the upper unit and the lower
unit. Poles are respectively formed on the upper unit and the lower
unit adjacent the notches. The upper unit forms a pair of latches
on opposite sides of the notch. The lower unit forms a pair of
pivots on opposite sides of the pole. A springloaded tape cartridge
is accommodated in the enclosure and comprises a wheel, a gasket
and a gear. The first and second elastic members are respectively
rotatably attached to the pivots of the lower unit. One end of each
of the elastic members engages with the gear. The button is
attached to the enclosure and disposed at the notches thereof. A
pair of projections is formed on the button and presses opposite
ends of the first and second elastic members respectively.
[0009] Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present
invention will be drawn from the following detailed description of
a preferred embodiment of the present invention with attached
drawings, in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tape measure in accordance
with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the tape measure of FIG.
1;
[0012] FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2 but viewed from another aspect;
and
[0013] FIG. 4 is a sketch view showing operation of the tape
measure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0014] Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a tape measure in accordance with a
preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises an
enclosure 1, a springloaded tape cartridge 2, and a tape braking
mechanism which comprises a first elastic member 3, a second
elastic member 4 and a button 5.
[0015] The enclosure 1 comprises an upper unit 11 and a lower unit
12 mating with each other. The upper unit 11 forms a protrusion 111
at a center thereof. The lower unit 12 forms a protrusion 121
corresponding to the protrusion 111 of the upper unit 11. Notches
112, 122 are respectively defined in the upper unit 11 and the
lower unit 12. Poles 113, 123 are respectively formed on the upper
unit 11 and the lower unit 12 adjacent the notches 112, 122. The
upper unit 12 forms a pair of latches 114 on opposite sides of the
notch 112. The lower unit 12 forms a pair of pivots 124, 125 on
opposite sides of the pole 123.
[0016] The springloaded tape cartridge 2 is accommodated in the
enclosure 1 and defines a through hole 21. The protrusions 111, 121
of the enclosure 1 are rotatably received in the through hole 21 of
the springloaded tape cartridge 2 to thereby allow the springloaded
tape cartridge 2 to rotate in the enclosure 1. The springloaded
tape cartridge 2 comprises a wheel 22, a gasket 23 attached to one
end of the wheel 22, and a gear 24 attached to the wheel 22. A tape
25 with measurement indicia coils around the wheel 22. The first
elastic member 3 is rotatably attached to the pivot 124 of the
lower unit 12. The first elastic member 3 comprises a pressing part
31 and a spring 32. The pressing part 31 comprises a first end and
a second end opposing the first end. The first end of the pressing
part 31 engages with the gear 24 of the springloaded tape cartridge
2.
[0017] The second elastic member 4 is rotatably attached to the
pivot 125 of the lower unit 12. The second elastic member 4
comprises a pressing part 41 and a spring 42. The pressing part 41
comprises a first end and a second end opposing the first end. The
first end of the pressing part 41 engages with the gear 24 of the
springloaded tape cartridge 2.
[0018] The button 5 is disposed at the notches 112, 122 of the
enclosure 1. An aperture 51 is defined in the button 5 for
receiving the poles 112, 123 of the enclosure 1 to thereby attach
the button 5 to the enclosure 1. A pair of projections 52, 53 is
formed on each of opposite sides of the button 5. The projections
52, 53 are for respectively pressing the second ends of the
pressing parts 31, 32. A pair of elastic plates 54, 55 is formed in
the button 5 corresponding to the latches 114 of the upper unit 11
of the enclosure 1.
[0019] Referring to FIG. 4, when a user wants to lock the tape 5,
the button 5 is driven to locate at a middle position. The first
ends of the pressing parts 31, 41 of the first and second elastic
members 3, 4 both engage with the gear 24. The springloaded tape
cartridge 2 is locked via the pressing parts 31, 41 engaging with
the gear 24. The tape 5 is therefore locked.
[0020] When the user wants to pull the tape 5 out of the enclosure
1, the button 5 is pressed forward. The elastic plate 55 formed at
the front portion of the button 5 is therefore engaged with the
latch 114 of the upper unit 1 and the projection 53 of the button 5
downwardly presses the second end of the pressing part 41 of the
second elastic member 4 to cause the first end of the pressing part
41 to move away from the gear 24. The second spring 42 of the
second elastic member 4 is deformed. At that state, the user is
capable of pulling the tape 5 out of the enclosure 1. In the
process of the tape 5 being pulled out of the enclosure 1, the gear
24 impacts the pressing part 31 of the first elastic member 3. When
the tape 5 is pulled to a predetermined position, the button 5 is
moved to the middle position. At that state, the second spring 42
of the second elastic member 4 returns to its original state to
thereby drive the second pressing part 41 to engage with the gear
24. So the gear 24 is locked.
[0021] When the user wants to withdraw the tape 5 into the
enclosure 1, the button 5 is moved backward. The elastic plate 54
of the button 5 is engaged with the latch 114 of the upper unit 1
to retain the button 5 at the back position. The projection 52 of
the button 5 presses the second end of the pressing part 31 of the
first elastic member 3 to cause the first end of the pressing part
31 to disengage from the gear 24. The first spring 32 of the second
elastic member 3 is deformed. The tape 5 is withdrawn in the
enclosure 1 via a central spring (not shown) employed in connection
with the tape cartridge 2 providing a retracting force tending to
draw the tape back into the enclosure and rewind or re-coil it
about the wheel 22. In the process of the tape 5 being withdrawn in
the enclosure 1, the gear 24 impacts the pressing part 41 of the
second elastic member 4. When the tape 5 is completely withdrawn in
the enclosure 1, the button 5 is moved to the middle position. At
that time, the first spring 32 of the first elastic member 3
returns to its original state to thereby drive the pressing part 31
to engage with gear 24. Therefore, the gear 24 is locked.
[0022] It is understood that the invention may be embodied in other
forms without departing from the spirit thereof. Thus, the present
example and embodiment is to be considered in all respects as
illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be
limited to the details given herein.
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