JP2575271B2 - Tape measure - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital display tape measure for digitally displaying a measured dimension. For example, it is suitable for anthropometry and measuring clothes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a digitally-displayed tape measure that digitally displays a measured length is rotated in association with the drawing-out of the measure material, in addition to a take-up reel that winds the measure material in a case so as to be able to be drawn out. The structure is such that a sprocket wheel is provided, the amount of rotation of the sprocket wheel is detected by an encoder or the like, and the amount of rotation, that is, the amount of pulling out of the measuring material is digitally displayed on a digital display.

In measuring the length, the tip of the measuring material is brought into contact with one end of the measurement site of the object to be measured with one hand, and then moved to the other end of the measurement site while holding the case with the other hand. If this is the case, the scale is pulled out of the case. Then, the sprocket wheel is rotated in association with the pulling out of the ruler, so that the amount of pulling out of the ruler is displayed on the digital display. Eventually, when the case is moved to a position where the measuring material outlet of the case coincides with the other end of the measurement part, the digital display shows the amount of drawing of the measuring material corresponding to the length of the measuring part of the DUT. Since the data is digitally displayed, it is possible to measure the length of the measurement site simply by reading the displayed value.

[0004]

However, as described above, in the conventional tape measure, in addition to the take-up reel for retrievably winding the measure into the case, a sprocket rotating in association with the draw of the measure is used. Because it has a structure with wheels,
The case must be large enough to accommodate at least the take-up reel and the sprocket wheel. In order to secure the effective measurement length, or to accurately convert the amount of pull-out of the length material to the amount of rotation of the sprocket wheel, the take-up reel and the sprocket wheel also need to have a certain size. In addition, there is naturally a limit to miniaturization of the case.

[0005] Therefore, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, it is difficult to reduce the size of the case itself to a certain size or less, and there is an inconvenience in handling. For example, it is difficult to hold the case with one hand at the time of length measurement and move it along the measurement site while holding the case.If the measurement site is a curved surface, it is difficult to move the case along the measurement site. The above inconvenience occurred. Therefore, it is considered that the digital display tape measure was not used for measuring clothes, etc., based on these reasons.

In addition, the fact that the size of the case itself cannot be reduced to a certain size or less is accompanied by a disadvantage that the measurable measurement site is limited. For example, when measuring the bottom of a groove or the like, the measurement must be performed with the case stored in the groove, so the measurable measurement site is when the size of the groove is larger than the size that can store the case. It has the disadvantage of being limited.

[0007] Further, when measuring the chest circumference in measuring clothes or measuring the body, if the person to be measured tries to measure by himself, a measurement error is likely to occur. In other words, the person to be measured must hold the tip of the measuring material with one hand, make the circuit around the chest while holding the case with the other hand, and make the tip of the measuring material coincide with the measuring material outlet of the case. Must. However, it is difficult for the subject himself to directly visually confirm the coincidence between the tip of the measuring material and the measuring material outlet of the case, so he has to rely on the sensation of the finger, and as a result, measurement errors are likely to occur. There's a problem.

[0008] The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, to be compact and lightweight, to be excellent in handleability, to expand the measurement range, and to allow the subject to measure his or her chest measurement. it is possible to accurately measure, it is manufactured
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tape measure that can guarantee an easy and stable measurement for a long time .

[0009]

For this purpose, a tape measure according to the present invention has tabs at both ends and is formed of a material having flexibility, and a tape extending in the longitudinal direction of the tape. A cursor portion slidably provided, including a displacement detection element provided along a longitudinal direction of the band material, an encoder for detecting a relative movement displacement amount between the displacement detection element and the cursor portion; Display means for displaying the amount of relative movement displacement detected by the encoder ; and a lockable and unlockable state in which one of the knobs provided on the cursor is positioned on the measurement reference plane of the cursor. With locking part
For example, the displacement detecting element is disposed in a longitudinal direction on one surface of the strip material.
From the conductive ink printed at regular pitch intervals along
Formed by a grid electrode, and a table of the grid electrodes
The surface is covered with an insulating film .

[0010]

In the length measurement, after the measurement reference plane of the cursor is positioned at one end of the measurement site of the object to be measured, the cursor is slid along the measurement site and in the longitudinal direction of the strip material. Then, the amount of relative movement displacement between the cursor portion and the band material is detected by the encoder, and then displayed on the display means. Eventually, when the measurement reference surface of the cursor section slides to the other end of the measurement site, a value corresponding to the amount of movement displacement of the cursor section is displayed on the display means. The dimensions can definitely be easily measured.

When measuring the chest circumference or the like, first, the display value of the display means is set to 0 while one of the knobs is in contact with the measurement reference plane of the cursor. After making one round along the chest circumference while pulling out one knob from the cursor,
It is locked by the locking portion. Then, since one of the knobs is locked while being positioned on the measurement reference plane of the cursor, in this state, the cursor is slid to eliminate the slack of the band material and then displayed on the display means. If the value is read, the measurement of the chest circumference can be accurately performed by the subject without measurement error.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a tape measure of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a tape measure of this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a bottom view thereof. As shown in these drawings, the tape measure of the present embodiment is roughly divided into a band member 10 having a predetermined length (about 2.5 m) and a slidable member in the longitudinal direction of the band member 10. Cursor section 20.

The strip member 10 has a strip-shaped base 11 formed in a thin strip shape having a constant width. The belt-like substrate 11
It is formed of a material having flexibility and electrical insulation. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, it is formed of a soft PVC coat 14 having a number of glass core wires 12 and a PVC sol coat 13 inside. Scales 15 are formed on the front surface of the band-shaped base 11, and narrow grid electrodes 16 (see FIG. 4) made of a conductive material are formed on the back surface at a constant pitch along the longitudinal direction. The knobs 18 and 19 are attached to.

Here, in order to form the grid electrode 16 on the strip-shaped base 11, conductive ink (for example, 50% carbon paste and 50% medium) is applied along the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped base 11.
% Or silver paste 50% and medium 50
% Etc.) at constant pitch intervals. The surface of the conductive ink (lattice electrode 16) is coated with an insulating film 17 (see FIG. 4) made of, for example, a poly film. Each of the knobs 18 and 19 has a width larger than the width of the band-shaped base 11 and is formed in a concave arc shape whose front side matches the curved surface of the belly of the thumb.

The cursor section 20 has a case 21. Case 21 includes, as shown in FIG.
The back case 23 is detachably engaged with the back side of the front case 22. Holes 24 (one on the upper surface and two on the lower surface) are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the front case 22, respectively.
Engaging pieces 25 are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the holes 3 so as to resiliently and removably engage with the holes 24, respectively. When the engagement pieces 25 elastically engage with the corresponding holes 24, the back case 23 is detachably engaged with the back side of the front case 22. A concave arc surface 26 that matches the curved surface of the belly of the thumb is formed on the lower surface of the case 21, and a number of ribs are juxtaposed on the concave arc surface 26 and the upper surface of the case 21 to remove irregularities. Each of the formed non-slip portions 27 is formed.

On the dividing lines of the front and back cases 22 and 23, through holes 31 through which the strip material 10 is inserted are formed through left and right end surfaces thereof, and a hold switch 32 is provided on the upper surface. Table case 22
Digital display 33 is located at the approximate center of the front of
The power-off switch 34 and the power-on
Zero set switches 35 are provided. On the back of the back case 23, one knob 18 is positioned on the measurement reference plane of the cursor section 20 (as indicated by the chain line in FIG. 2, the base end of the knob 18 is on the left side of the cursor section 20). (Coincident with the reference plane) , and
An unlocking engagement portion 36 is provided. Locking part 3
As shown in detail in FIG. 5, 6 is formed in a shape protruding at a right angle from the back surface of the back case 23 and then rising diagonally upward and in a direction approaching the back surface.
In addition, inside the case 21, a capacitance type encoder 40 for detecting a relative movement displacement amount between the cursor unit 20 and the strip material 10 and other circuits are provided.

As shown in FIG. 6, the capacitance type encoder 40 comprises a grid electrode 16 arranged at a constant pitch along the longitudinal direction of the strip material 10, and the grid electrode 16
It comprises a ground electrode (not shown) disposed therebetween and a plurality of sets of transmission electrode elements arranged at a constant pitch on the cursor section 20 side along the moving direction of the strip material 10 and eight sets constitute one set. The transmitting electrode 41, the receiving electrodes 42 arranged in parallel with the length of the transmitting electrode 41, and the transmitting electrode elements forming one set (the other sets are also the same) having 360 degrees divided into eight phases having different phases. A transmission circuit 43 for applying a transmission signal, and a transmission electrode 41
And a receiving circuit 44 that receives a signal from the receiving electrode 42 whose phase changes based on the relative movement displacement between the grating electrode 16. Note that the measurement principle of the electrostatic capacitance type encoder is described in detail such as in JP-B 64-118 8 3 JP.

The output from the receiving circuit 44, that is, the output from the encoder 40, is counted by a counter 45 and then processed by the CPU 46 to process the digital display 3.
3 are displayed digitally one after another. The count value of the counter 45 is set to 0 when the zero set switch 35 is pressed.
And when the hold switch 32 is pressed, the value is held. If necessary, the data is transmitted to an external data processing device via a transmitter 47 by wire or wirelessly by the processing of the CPU 46.
It is processed and printed out.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In the length measurement, after the measurement reference plane of the cursor unit 20 (normally, the left end surface of the cursor unit 20) is positioned at one end of the measurement site of the DUT, when the zero set switch 23 is pressed,
The display value of the digital display 33 is set to 0. Subsequently, the cursor section 20 is moved along the measurement site and the strip material 10.
When the slider is slid in the longitudinal direction, the amount of relative movement displacement between the cursor section 20 and the strip material 10 is detected by the encoder 40, and then digitally displayed on the digital display 33. Eventually, when the measurement reference plane of the cursor unit 20 slides to the other end of the measurement site, when the hold switch 32 is pressed, the display value displayed on the digital display 33 is held. Therefore, the digital display 3
By just reading the display value of No. 3, it is possible to easily and easily measure the dimensions of the measurement site.

When measuring the chest circumference in measuring clothes or measuring the body, first, one of the knobs 18 is brought into contact with the measurement reference plane of the cursor 20, and then the zero set switch 35 is pressed to display the digital display 33. The display value is set to 0. After one knob 18 is pulled out from the cursor 20 and made one round along the chest circumference, it is locked by the locking portion 36. Then, the base end of one of the knobs 18 is moved to the cursor 2
One end of the strip material 10 is positioned in a state where it coincides with the zero measurement reference plane. In this state, after the cursor portion 20 is slid along the band member 10 to eliminate the slack of the band member 10, the hold switch 32 is pressed and the display value of the digital display 33 is read, so that the measurement of the chest circumference is performed. The measurer can perform the measurement accurately without any measurement error.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the band member 10 is provided with the flexible band member 10 and the cursor portion 20 slidably provided in the longitudinal direction of the band member 10.
Of the grid electrode 16 provided along the longitudinal direction and the transmission electrode 41 and the reception electrode 42 provided on the cursor portion 20 side.
To form a capacitive encoder 40 for detecting the amount of relative movement displacement between the two.
The digital display 33 for displaying the output of the
, The cursor section 20 can be significantly reduced in size as compared with the conventional case.

That is, unlike the related art, there is no need to provide a take-up reel or a sprocket wheel that rotates in association with the drawing of the measuring material, so that the cursor section 20 can be downsized accordingly. Therefore, the cursor portion 20 can be easily held with one hand, and even when the measurement site is a curved surface, the cursor portion 20 can be easily moved along the curved surface, so that the handleability can be further improved as compared with the related art. Further, even when measuring the bottom of a groove or the like, even if the size of the measurable groove is smaller than the conventional one, the measurement range can be expanded.

Also, knobs 18, 1 are provided at both ends of the strip material 10.
9 is provided, and a locking portion 36 is provided on the back surface of the cursor portion 20 to lock the one knob 18 in a state of being positioned on the measurement reference surface of the cursor portion 20. When the band is locked to the locking portion 36 after the circumference, the one end of the band material 10 is positioned with the base end of the one knob 18 coinciding with the measurement reference plane of the cursor portion 20. The person to be measured can perform the measurement accurately without any measurement error.

The case 21 of the cursor section 20 is composed of a front case 22 and a back case 23, and the back case 23 can be attached to and detached from the front case 22 by the holes 24 and the engagement pieces 25. The back case 23 can be easily removed from the front case 22. Therefore, the strip material 1
The belt member 10 can be easily exchanged for zero wear or cutting.

The grid electrode 16 constitutes the strip material 10.
Conductive ink is printed on the strip-shaped base 11 at a constant pitch interval.
Since it is formed by printing, the grid electrode 16 is
It can be easily formed. Moreover, since the coated surface of the grid electrode 16 provided on the band-like substrate 11 which constitutes the Obishakuzai 10 with an insulating film 17 such as polyethylene film, rating
In addition to ensuring electrical insulation between the sub-electrodes 16,
The grid electrode 16 may be damaged even if the solder portion 20 slides.
And stable measurement can be guaranteed for a long time. This insulating film 1
It is also possible to print a visual scale 12 on 7. Further, since the cursor unit 20 is provided with the zero set switch 35 and the hold switch 32, the length measurement can be started from an arbitrary position by pressing the zero set switch 35, and the display value is held by pressing the hold switch 32. Therefore, the displayed value is easy to read. Moreover,
Since the transmitter 47 is provided, the display value can be transmitted to the outside through the transmitter 47 and processed there.

[0026]

[0027]

It should be noted that the present invention has the structure described in the above embodiment.
However, the present invention is not limited to this and includes the following modifications. example
If, for the material of the band-like substrate 11 constituting the Obishakuzai 10 is not limited to soft salt Bikoto 14 containing glass core wire 12 described in the above embodiment and may be any other. In short, any material having flexibility may be used.

Further, the digital display 33 constituting the display means is not limited to the one provided integrally with the cursor section 20 as in the above-described embodiment, but is formed separately from the cursor section 20. The amount of relative movement displacement detected by the encoder 40 may be transmitted to a separate display device by wire or wirelessly and displayed there.

[0030]

As described above, according to the tape measure of the present invention, it is small and lightweight, has excellent handleability, can expand the measuring range, and can accurately measure the measurement of the chest itself. As well as easy and stable measurement
The effect of long-term guarantee can be expected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a tape measure of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a tape measure in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the tape measure in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the band member in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a capacitance type encoder in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the band members in the embodiment are connected in a ring shape.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Belt material 16 Grid electrode (displacement detection element) 18, 19 Knob part 20 Cursor part 33 Digital display (display means) 36 Locking part 40 Capacitance encoder 43 Transmission circuit 44 Receiving circuit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-61-16319 (JP, U) JP 4-26405 (JP, B2) JP 3-54284 (JP, B2)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A band member having knob portions at both ends and formed of a material having flexibility, a cursor portion slidably provided in a longitudinal direction of the band member, An encoder that includes a displacement detection element provided along the longitudinal direction of the band material and detects an amount of relative movement displacement between the displacement detection element and the cursor unit, and displays an amount of relative movement displacement detected by the encoder. Display means to be locked , and one of the knobs provided on the cursor section can be locked and locked in a state where it is positioned on the measurement reference plane of the cursor section.
A releasable locking portion, wherein the displacement detection element is disposed along one surface longitudinal direction of the band material.
Made of conductive ink printed at regular pitch intervals
And the surface of the grid electrode is
A tape measure characterized by being covered with an insulating film .