CA1254033A

CA1254033A - Tape measure

Info

Publication number: CA1254033A
Application number: CA000447347A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Syunya Takeda
Original assignee: Sekisui Jushi Corp
Current assignee: Sekisui Jushi Corp
Priority date: 1983-02-16
Filing date: 1984-02-14
Publication date: 1989-05-16
Also published as: FR2541446A1; DE3404629C2; FR2541446B1; GB2135969A; DE3404629A1; GB2135969B; GB8404109D0

Abstract

A quick rewind tape measure having a reel rotatably supported in an outer case with a handle adapted to rotate the reel to rewind a measuring tape. A smaller externally tooth gear is secured to a shaft supporting the reel and a larger internally toothed gear is secured to a shaft of the handle and engages the smaller gear. A spring can be provided to press the outer face of the larger gear to keep it in contact with the smaller one.

Description

~2~333 This invention relates to tape measure, particularly a quick rewindable tape measure.

A tape measure has hi-therto been made by rotatably placing a reel in an outer case and windiny a measuring tape around the reel to house the tape in the case when unused. There has been a tape measure in which a coil spring is provided in the interior of the reel and the measuring tape can be automatically rewound around the reel by the restoring force of the spring.
This type of tape measure generally been utilized when the tape has a comparatively short length, particularly less than a length of 10 m. Since it is difficult to rewind the tape by the restoring force of a spring when the measuring tape is of a length form 10 m to 100 m, tape measures have been made so that the measuring tape can be rewound by rotating a handle by hand.
Tape measures of this kind were prepared by rotatably placing a reel in a case to enable winding the tape around the reel and also by providing a sLde of the case with a handle for rotating the reel.

In the case wherein a string is used for measuring the length instead of a tape, twist of the s-tring causing no -trouble when rewound, a quick rewind measure has been prepared hitherto in which rewind speed was increased a few times a handle speed.
In contrast, in the case wherein a tape is used for measuring the length, if the tape is rewound in a high speed, the tape is liable to be twisted. Consequently, a quick rewind -tape measure has not been manufactured hitherto.

A kind of -the quick rewind tape measure has recently become known. It is disclosPd, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 55-145303. The quick rewind tape measure, however, disclosed in said Publication has a bigger external gear secured to the handle, a smaller external gear secured to the reel with bo-th gears being engaged. In other words, both gears are nothing bu-t pinions having external gear .,,; ~
, :~

~254~3~3 teeth and simply engaged in an external relation. As a result, the reel was rotated in the direction adverse to the rotating direction of the handle, and the reel center was greatly distant from the handle center. Thus, when the tape measure is to be rewound, the handle must be rotated in the adverse direction.
Rewinding the tape measure could not be smoothly operated.
Further, the tape measure itself could not be made compact.
Consequently, these were disadvantages o~ the quick rewind tape measure.

The present invention eliminates the disadvantages and provides an improved quick rewind tape measure. In order to achieve this, the invention requires that a large gear and a smaller gear are secured to the handle and the reel, respectively, (in this respect the present invention is the same as the known one). However, the gear secured to the handle is a ring type gear having internal teeth, while the gear secured to the reel is a gear having external teeth and the external gear is placed within the internal gear to be in internal con-tact and in engagement with the internal gear.

~ ~ 5 ~ 3 3 According to the present invention there is provided a ~uick ~ewind t~pe measure form~d by rotatably placing in an outer case a reel for winding a tape, providing a handle on the outer side of the case so that the reel can be rotated by the handle to rewind a measuring tape, which tape measure is characterized in that a smaller external gear is secured to a shaft supporting the reel, a bigger internal gear is secured to a shaft of the handle, and the external gear is internally contacted and engaged with the internal gear.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a quick rewind tape measure comprising: an outer case having a protruding portion separated by a supporting plate, a reel for winding a measure tape having a reel shaft extending through the supporting plate and being rotatably supported in the outer case, a handle having a handle sha~t, the handle being rotatably mounted on the outside faclng to the protruding por-tion, the handle shaft being situated in the protruding portion and having one end thereof supported by the supporting plate, a smaller pinion gear having teeth on its outer periphery and being secured to the end of the reel shaft to be rotatably supported in the protruding portion, a bigger ring gear having teeth on its inner periphery and being secured to said handle shaft to be rotatably supported in the protruding portion, and said pinion gear being positioned radially inwardly of said ring gear and engaging said ring gear.

~ ccording to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a quick rewind tape measure comprising: an outer case having a protruding portion separated by a supporting plate, a ree] for winding a measure tape having a reel shaft ex-tending through the supporting plate and being rotatably sup-ported in the protruding portion, a handle having a handle shaft, the handle being rotatably mounted on the outside facing to the protruding portion, the handle shaft being situated in the pro-truding portion and having one end thereof rotatably supportPd by ~'J ~ .
`~_,~J '`: ~ -- 3 S~L~33 th~ supporting plate, a ~malle.r pinion gear having teeth on its outer periphery and being secured to the end of the reel shaft to be rotatably suppoL-ted in the protruding portion, a bigger ring gear h~ving tee~h on its inner periphe~y and being secured to said handle shaft to be rotatably sup-ported in the protruding portion, said pinion gear being positioned radiallyinwaxd:Ly of said ring gear and engaging said ring gear, and a spring mounted in the protruding portion engaging an ~uter portion of said ring gear to press said ring gear to keep contact with said pinion gear.
In one embodiment of the present invention the reel 1~ shaft and the smaller pinion gear are formed integrally of a hard synthetic resin. Desirably said outer case includes a supporting plate made of a hard synthetic resin, the reel shaft is supported by said supporting plate~ and a metal ring is inte~posed between the reel shaft and the supporting plate. Suitably the tape mea sure further includes a grip for carrying the case at a portion opposite to an exit of the measuring tape, and the grip is formed in a shape having three sides of a regular octagon around the reel shaft and includes at least three straight portions continu-ing the turning at an angle of 135.

The present invention is explained below referring to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Fig.s 1-3 show an example of the tape measure according to the invention, particularly, Fig. 1 iS a front view of the tape measure, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a front vlew of the reel, partly cut away, used in Fig. l; and Fig.s 4-7 show another example of the tape measure according to the invention, particularly, Fig. 4 is a front view of the tape measure, Fig. 5 is a front view of the tape measure, in which a half side has been cut away, Fig. 6 is a front view of the tape measure in which a reel has been removed and Flg. 7 is a perspective, partially exploded view of the tape measure, in which a shaft supporting plate has been removed.

~r - 3a --t ~25~33 Referring to E'igs. 1-3, case l has a grip 17 at the upper portion thereof and a stake point 18 at the lower portion thereof. Case 1 is also provided with winder 2 including handle 6 and shaft 21 integrally formed with handle 6.

Winder 2 is provided in a protruding portion ll a-ttached to case l and situated between a supported by the wall of protruding portion 11 and a supporting plate 12 covering the opening of protruding portion ll. Supporting portion 24 of handle 6 is fitted and rotatably supported in an aperture 14 of protruding portion 11. AS the result, winder 2 can be rotated in case 1 when handle 6 is driven. The interior of winder 2 ~s recessed at 22 except for shaft 21, and internal gear teeth are formed on the entire inner peripheral wall of the recessed portion.
A reel 3 for wtnding tape is housed in case l and has a measuring tape 5 windable therearound. The reel 3, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, is provided with flanges 32 of a large diameter at each of both sides of shaft 31, which is provided with ring 33 for fastening the end of the measuring tape 5 and groove 34 for receiving ring 33 when the ring 33 is laid down. Each of flanges 32 is provided with a plurality of apertures distributed on the entire surface of the flanges 32. The apertures serve to remove sand and water adhering to the measuring tape when the tape measure is washed with water. Each of flanges 32 is further ~:;

. ¦ provided with another aperture 37 which is for either securing or . ¦ re~oving the end of the measuring tape 5 from ring 33.
l ~S~33 A shaf-t 4 supports the reel and can be inserted into center hole 36 of reel 3. One side of shaft 4 is supported by aperture 15 in supporting plate 12 and the other side of shaft 4 by aperture 16 in case 1. Center hole 36 of reel 3 is made square in cross section and shaft 4 is made also partly square in the outer shape thereof so that shaft 4 is prevented from idling in the reel 3. Shaft 4 extends on the side of supporting plate 12 to reach the winder 2. The extended portion is provided with external gearlhaving a smaller diameter and gear teeth on , ItS external periphery, which are engaged with the teeth of .
internal gear 23. Thus, shaft 4 is rotatably received in the case and is provided with the external gear 41 placed between winder 2 and supporting plate 12.

The measuring tape 5 is made of a band steel, a fiber-reinforced synthetic resin band or the like, and has usually a length of 50 m to 100 m.

Winder 2, for example, has an internal gear 23 of an inside diameter of 45 mm, shaft 4 has external gear 41 of an-outside diameter of 12 mm, an~ external gear ~1 is internally contacted with internal gear 23. Rotation ratio of internal gear . 23 to external 41 is 1 to 3.75. Drum 31 in reel 3 has the outside diameterof 63 mm, which holds a ring 33, and a measuring tape of steel having 50 m in length is secured to ring 33. When handle 6 is rotated, all of the steel tape measure can be readily rewound. Forty rotations of the handle are sufficient to rewind 5~3~

all of the measuring tape and the measuring tape can be rewound by a small number of rotations. Further, since the measuring tape can be rewound in the same direction as the handle rotating direction, unusual feeling is not brought during rewind of the measuring tape and the measuring tape can be rewound smoothly.
In contrast, when the reel is directly connected with and rotated by the handle to rewind the measuring tape having the length of 50 m around the reel, one hundred fifty rotations of the handle are required for rewinding the measuring tape and operations for rewinding the measuring tape are troublesome.

Referring now to Figs. 4 to 7, another tape measure according to the present lnvention is Eurther explained below.
The tape measure is formed by housing in a case 10 a reel 30 for winding the measuring tape 50, a winder 20, and shaft 40 for supporting and rotating reel 30. Case lo is formed by opposing and screwing two symmetrical plates. An opening 19 extending through said two plates is formed in a portion opposite to an exit of the measuring tape in case 10. The outer fringe of opening 19 forms grip 17. Grip 17 is formed in a shape-like three sides of a regular octagon around the shaft 40 supporting the reel 30, and includes at least three straight portions contlnuing and turning at an angle of 135. Stake point 18 is formed on the opposite side of grip 17.

Winder 20 is connected with handle 60 outside of the case. The base of handle 60 is fitted in an aperture in case 10 and set rotatably in case 10. A metal ring is secured to case 10 between the aperture in case 10 and the base oE handle 60 for smoothly rotating handle 60. winder 20 is provided with an internal gear 23 and shaft 21, both of which are integrally formed with winder 20. Winder 20 is made of a nard thermoplastic synthetic resin, for example, polyacetal.

Shaft 40 is placed inside of internal gear 23. Shaft 40 is provided with external gear 41 at one end. Middle portion ~ ~ S~ 3 42 of shaft 40 is fitted in aperture 14 at one end. Middle portion 42 of shaft 40 is fitted in aperture 15 in supporting plate 12, with one end of shaft 21 being simultaneously fitted in aperture 13 in supporting plate 12. soth shaft 40 and 21 are rotatably supported by supporting plate 12, resulting in engaging external gear 41 with internal gear 23. ',haft 40 and supporting plate 12 are preferably made of hard thermoplastic synthetic resin such as polyacetal.

Plate spring 80 is provided in the vicinity of the portions at which external gear 41 is internally contacted with internal gear 23. Plate ~pring 80 urges internal gear 23 to press external gear 41 so that external gear 41 may be ensured to engage with lnternal groove 23 and thus serves to prevent gaars from generating frictional sounds when rotated.
Metal ring 70 is interposed between middle portion 42 of shaft 40 and aperture 14 of supporting plate 12 so that shaft 40 ls ro~ated smoothly and prevented from abrasion thereof.

Shaft 40 has a square outer shape in cross section of portion 43 which is set ~ust outside of supporting plate 12.
Reel 30 is placed on portion ~3. Central aperture 36 in reel 30 is made square so that reel 30 can be just fitted in portion 43.
Reel 30 has further two flanges 32 at both sides thereof, and each flanges 32 has perforations 35. In the o-ther respects, reel 30 has a same structure as that shown in Figs. 1-3 so that measuring tape 50 can be seated between flanges 32 of reel 30.

According to the present invention, winder 20 is provided with an internal gear, which is engaged with an external gear formed on the sha~t for rotating the reel. When the handle mount~d on the winder is rotated, the reel is rotated in a high speed in proportion to the rotation ratio of the internal gear to the external gear, thus the measuring tape can be rewound in a high speed. Consequently, the tape measure has the advantage that an elongate measuring tape having a length of more than 10 m, particularly 50 m to 100 m can be rewound quickly.

Furlher, according to the present invention, the wind~r is provided with the internal gear, and therefore the winder can be rotated ln th~ same direction as that of the rePl, so that the tape measure can be rewound in the same direction as the handle rotating direction, hence the measuring tape can be smoothly rewound.

Furthermore, according to the invention, th~ winder is provided with the internal gear, and therefore the winder shaft can be provided in close proximity to the shaft for the reel, thus the tape measure as a whole is stable at the time of rewlnding. Hence the measuring tape can be rewound more smoothly. Still further, the external gear is placed in the recessed portion of the winder, and the case can be decreased in volume, consequently the tape measure is convenient to carry.

Yet, further, the winder and the shaft are made of a hard thermoplastic resin, therefore can be easily manufactured.
Even when they are rotated at a high speed, they generate less noise, further since the metal ring is provided at the contacting portion thereof, they are less abraded.

Furthermore, since the plate spring is provided in the portion where the external gear is internally contaeted with the in-ternal gear, so as to press the outside periphery of the internal gear to the external gear, the external gear is firmly engaged w~th the internal gear. When the shaEt is rotated at a high speed, the gears are prevented from generating noise.

This invention brings about various advantages as mentioned above.

It is really apparent that the above-described tape ~25~33 measure meets all of the ob;ect~ mentioned above and also has the advantage of wlde commerical utility.

g

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A quick rewind tape measure comprising: an outer case having a protruding portion separated by a supporting plate, a reel for winding a measure tape having a reel shaft extending through the supporting plate and being rotatably supported in the outer case, a handle having a handle shaft, the handle being rotatably mounted on the outside facing to the protruding portion, the handle shaft being situated in the protruding portion and having one end thereof supported by the supporting plate, a pinion gear having teeth on its outer periphery and being secured to the end of the reel shaft to be rotatably supported in the protruding portion, ring gear forming a circle bigger than the circle formed by the teeth of the said pinion gear having teeth on its inner periphery and being secured to said handle shaft to be rotatably supported in the protruding portion, and said pinion gear being positioned radially inwardly of said ring gear and engaging said ring gear.

2. A quick rewind tape measure comprising: an outer case having a protruding portion separated by a supporting plate, a reel for winding a measure tape having a reel shaft extending through the supporting plate and being rotatably supported in the protruding portion, a handle having a handle shaft, the handle being rotatably mounted on the outside facing to the protruding portion, the handle shaft being situated in the protruding portion and having one end thereof rotatably supported by the supporting plate, a pinion gear having teeth on its outer periphery and being secured to the end of the reel shaft to be rotatably supported in the protruding portion, a ring gear forming a circle bigger than the circle formed by the teeth of the said pinion gear having teeth on its inner periphery and being secured to said handle shaft to be rotatably supported in the protruding portion, said pinion gear being positioned radially inwardly of said ring gear and engaging said ring gear, and a spring mounted in the protruding portion engaging an outer portion of said ring gear to press said ring gear to keep contact with said pinion gear.

3. A quick rewind tape measure according to claim 1, wherein the reel shaft and the pinion gear are formed integrally of a hard synthetic resin.

4. A quick rewind tape measure according to claim 2, wherein the reel shaft and the pinion gear are formed integrally of a hard synthetic resin.

5. A quick rewind tape measure according to claim 3, wherein said outer case includes a supporting plate made of a hard synthetic resin, the reel shaft is supported by said supporting plate, and a metal ring is interposed bet-ween the reel shaft and the supporting plate.

6. A quick rewind tape measure according to claim 4, wherein said outer case includes a supporting plate made of a hard synthetic resin, the reel shaft is supported by said supporting plate, and a metal ring is interposed bet-ween the reel shaft and the supporting plate.

7. A quick rewind tape measure according to claim 1, wherein the outer case further includes a grip for carry-ing the case at a portion opposite to an exit of the measur-ing tape, and the grip is formed in a shape having three sides of a regular octagon around the reel shaft and inclu-des at least three straight portions continuing the turning at an angle of 135°.

8. A quick rewind tape measure according to claim 2, wherein the outer case further includes a grip for carry-ing the case at a portion opposite to an exit of the measur-ing tape, and the grip is formed in a shape having three sides of a regular octagon around the reel shaft and inclu-des at least three straight portions continuing the turning at an angle of 135°.

9. A quick rewind tape measure according to claim 3, wherein the outer case further includes a grip for carry-ing the case at a portion opposite to an exit of the measur-ing tape, and the grip is formed in a shape having three sides of a regular octagon around the reel shaft and inclu-des at least three straight portions continuing the turning of an angle of 135°.

10. A quick rewind tape measure according to claim 4, wherein the outer case further includes a grip for carry-ing the case at a portion opposite to an exit of the measur-ing tape, and the grip is formed in a shape having three sides of a regular octagon around the reel shaft and inclu-des at least three straight portions continuing the turning at an angle of 135°.

11. A quick rewind tape measure according to claim 5, wherein the outer case further includes a grip for carry-ing the case at a portion opposite to an exit of the measur-ing tape, and the grip is formed in a shape having three sides of a regular octagon around the reel shaft and inclu-des at least three straight portions continuing the turning at an angle of 135°.

12. A quick rewind tape measure according to claim 6, wherein the outer case further includes a grip for carry-ing the case at a portion opposite to an exit of the measur-ing tape, and the grip is formed in a shape having three sides of a regular octagon around the reel shaft and inclu-des at least three straight portions continuing the turning at an angle of 135°.