GB2340607A - Electronic ruler - Google Patents

Electronic ruler Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2340607A
GB2340607A GB9817756A GB9817756A GB2340607A GB 2340607 A GB2340607 A GB 2340607A GB 9817756 A GB9817756 A GB 9817756A GB 9817756 A GB9817756 A GB 9817756A GB 2340607 A GB2340607 A GB 2340607A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
ruler
scales
scale
memory
screen
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
GB9817756A
Other versions
GB9817756D0 (en
Inventor
Patrick Hartmann Kelly
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to GB9817756A priority Critical patent/GB2340607A/en
Publication of GB9817756D0 publication Critical patent/GB9817756D0/en
Publication of GB2340607A publication Critical patent/GB2340607A/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B43—WRITING OR DRAWING IMPLEMENTS; BUREAU ACCESSORIES
    • B43L—ARTICLES FOR WRITING OR DRAWING UPON; WRITING OR DRAWING AIDS; ACCESSORIES FOR WRITING OR DRAWING
    • B43L7/00—Straightedges
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B43—WRITING OR DRAWING IMPLEMENTS; BUREAU ACCESSORIES
    • B43L—ARTICLES FOR WRITING OR DRAWING UPON; WRITING OR DRAWING AIDS; ACCESSORIES FOR WRITING OR DRAWING
    • B43L7/00—Straightedges
    • B43L7/005—Straightedges combined with other drawing aids
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01B—MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS
    • G01B3/00—Measuring instruments characterised by the use of mechanical techniques
    • G01B3/002—Details
    • G01B3/004—Scales; Graduations
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01B—MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS
    • G01B3/00—Measuring instruments characterised by the use of mechanical techniques
    • G01B3/02—Rulers with scales or marks for direct reading
    • G01B3/04—Rulers with scales or marks for direct reading rigid

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Drawing Aids And Blackboards (AREA)
  • Length-Measuring Instruments Using Mechanical Means (AREA)

Abstract

A ruler has a straight edge 12 adjacent which is an electronic screen on which may be displayed any one of a number of different scales, which may be in different units, which are stored in a memory 16. The particular units and scale are selected by means of buttons 18, 20. The ruler may also incorporate a calculator and a clock with respective screens 28 and 30, and is preferably powered by solar cells 22.

Description

RULER This invention is concerned with rulers having a measuring scale.
Rulers are used extensively in school and offices. for drawing straight lines and for measuring against a- scale on a straight edge of the ruler the length of a line or, more generally the distance between two points. Many types of ruler are available on the market; for example, some are flat and have on their two straight edges four scales while others are triangular and, having three straight edges, can accommodate six scales. The number of scales in common use, however, greatly exceeds the number that can be accommodated on a ruler. Common scales are those graduated in imperial or metric units, and imperial scales can be graduated in tenths of inches or quarters, eights or sixteenths of inches, or combinations of these fractions. Other more specialised scales are also in use.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a ruler having a scale that can be changed.
The present invention is a ruler having a straight edge, an electronic screen adjacent the straight edge, a memory in which is stored different scales and means for selecting a scale from the memory for display on the screen.
The scales stored in memory may include scales in different units.
Preferably, means are provided for selecting the units of the scale displayed.
The ruler may be powered by one or more batteries but is preferably powered by solar cells.
The ruler may include a clock and a display f or showing the time and/or the date.
A calculator may be incorporated in the ruler with its associated display.
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, the single figure of which shows a ruler according to the present invention.
Referring now to the drawing, a ruler according to the present invention comprises a body 10 having, in this embodiment, a single straight edge 12 and an electronic screen 14 adjacent the straight edge. Electronic circuitry 16 is provided inside the body 10 and includes a memory which stores different scales in different units, and two groups of buttons 18 and 20 are provided on the top surface of the ruler. The buttons in the two groups 18 and 20 are connected with the memory to select the desired scale and the memory is connected with the screen 14 to display the selected scale.
In this embodiment the circuitry 16 also includes a calculator and a clock which have respective screens 28 and 30 on the upper surface of the ruler.
An array of solar cells 22 is located on the upper surface of the ruler as the power source for the circuitry 16 and the screens 14, 28 and 30. The array 22 is connected to the memory and the screens through an on/off button 24.
The group of buttons 18 comprises, in this embodiment, two buttons for selecting either imperial or metric units while the eight buttons in the group 20 select different scales of the selected units.
In use, the on/off button 24 is operated to energise the circuitry 16 and the screens 14, 28 and 30. The units are selected by operating one of the buttons in the group 18 and the scale is then selected by operating one of the buttons in the group 20. The selected scale is then shown on the screen 14 and remains there for use until either another scale is selected or the on/off button is again actuated.
The clock is powered by a small rechargeable battery to enable it to operate while the ruler is not being used, the battery being recharged from the solar cells when the ruler is in use.
Instead of using solar cells the ruler could be powered by batteries, though this is not the preferred option.
In modifications of the embodiment described the screen 14 is illuminated and an indication is given on the screen of the scale and/or units displayed.
The buttons 20 in the embodiment described are preprogrammed to cause the display of a particular scale, but they could be replaced by a numerical keypad to select scales on the basis of numbers keyed in, the numbers being preset to correspond to the scales to be selected.

Claims (8)

1. A ruler having a straight edge, an electronic screen adjacent the straight edge, a memory in which is stored dif f erent scales and means f or selecting a scale f rom the memory f or display on the screen.
2. A ruler as claimed in claim 1, in which the scales stored in memory include scales in different units.
3. A ruler as claimed in claim I or claim 2, in which means are provided for selecting the units of the scale displayed.
4. A ruler as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the ruler is powered by batteries
5. A ruler as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, in which the 20 ruler is powered by solar cells.
6. A ruler as claimed in any preceding claim, including a clock and a screen for displaying the time and/or the date.
7. A ruler as claimed in any preceding claim, in which a calculator with its associated screen is provided in the ruler.
8. A ruler substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawing.
GB9817756A 1998-08-14 1998-08-14 Electronic ruler Withdrawn GB2340607A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9817756A GB2340607A (en) 1998-08-14 1998-08-14 Electronic ruler

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9817756A GB2340607A (en) 1998-08-14 1998-08-14 Electronic ruler

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB9817756D0 GB9817756D0 (en) 1998-10-14
GB2340607A true GB2340607A (en) 2000-02-23

Family

ID=10837276

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB9817756A Withdrawn GB2340607A (en) 1998-08-14 1998-08-14 Electronic ruler

Country Status (1)

Country Link
GB (1) GB2340607A (en)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2419414A (en) * 2004-10-23 2006-04-26 Erik Juel Jacobsen Ruler
GB2445797A (en) * 2007-01-19 2008-07-23 Michael Cross Scale rule with digital display

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2036394A (en) * 1977-06-24 1980-06-25 Woo J Electronic rule for precise destance measurement and distance setting
GB2137002A (en) * 1983-02-23 1984-09-26 Casio Computer Co Ltd Electronic Scale
GB2150888A (en) * 1983-12-06 1985-07-10 Romano Mario Cooper Ruler with variable scale
GB2286677A (en) * 1994-02-15 1995-08-23 Howard Curtis Digital scale rule
GB2312510A (en) * 1996-04-27 1997-10-29 Nigel Geoffrey Ley Electronic ruler

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2036394A (en) * 1977-06-24 1980-06-25 Woo J Electronic rule for precise destance measurement and distance setting
GB2137002A (en) * 1983-02-23 1984-09-26 Casio Computer Co Ltd Electronic Scale
GB2150888A (en) * 1983-12-06 1985-07-10 Romano Mario Cooper Ruler with variable scale
GB2286677A (en) * 1994-02-15 1995-08-23 Howard Curtis Digital scale rule
GB2312510A (en) * 1996-04-27 1997-10-29 Nigel Geoffrey Ley Electronic ruler

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2419414A (en) * 2004-10-23 2006-04-26 Erik Juel Jacobsen Ruler
GB2445797A (en) * 2007-01-19 2008-07-23 Michael Cross Scale rule with digital display

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB9817756D0 (en) 1998-10-14

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Legal Events

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WAP Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1)