JP4972333B2 - Tape measure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tape measure provided with a winding spring that accommodates a measuring tape in a main body case so that the measuring tape can be wound or fed and winds and urges the measuring tape.

Conventionally, a tape measure that has been used to wind up and store a long measuring tape made of steel plate, woven fabric, plastic material, etc. in the main body case and to feed it to the desired length from its feed opening when in use is used in industries such as construction sites. Widely used in fields and general households. In addition to the manual winding method, many automatic winding methods using the return force of the spring spring are employed for the winding. Further, as the measuring tape made of a steel plate, a measuring tape that is curved in the width direction (convex) and that can be kept linear by its shape memory property when being fed is adopted. In the case of the automatic winding type tape measure as described above, the connecting portion between the measuring tape and the spring spring is generally configured so that the measuring tape can be exchanged by hooking the hole and the tongue piece. It is. Various shapes of such holes and tongue pieces have been devised in consideration of the ease of connection / removal and connection stability, and Patent Documents 1 and 2 show examples thereof.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 53-16369 Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-641

  In the connecting device of the tape measure disclosed in Patent Document 1, two perforations are provided in the inner end portion (base end connecting portion) of the steel tape measure (measurement tape) along the longitudinal direction, An intermediate width band portion that can be inserted into one of the perforations, an outer wide protrusion projecting piece, a narrow width band portion that is carried on the side edge of the perforation, and the other end of the helical spring. An intermediate width engaging head piece that can be inserted into the perforation is formed, and the outer end of the helical spring is appropriately hidden from the front and back of the perforation of the tape measure from the front and back sides. The inner end portion of the tape measure and the outer end portion of the helical spring are connected to each other by engaging each other according to the width and shape of the respective portions of the end portion. However, in the case of this connecting device, it is necessary to provide two perforations at the inner end of the tape measure, and it is necessary to provide a plurality of portions having different widths in the longitudinal direction at the outer end of the helical spring. For this reason, the connecting margin portion of the tape measure and the helical spring has to be lengthened in the longitudinal direction, which has been a factor of reducing the degree of freedom in design.

  Moreover, in the connection structure disclosed in Patent Document 2, a rectangular opening and tabs (finger portions) protruding from the four corners of the opening are formed at the inner end of the measuring tape, and one spring ( The outer end of the spring spring is formed with a narrow portion, a rectangular enlarged portion that follows this, and a narrow portion that continues further to the front side. The enlarged portion is overlapped with the opening, and the four corners of the enlarged portion are The inner end portion of the measuring tape and the outer end portion of the spring are connected by seating and inverting the shoulder portion below the tab of the opening. This connection structure has a simple connection structure at the inner end portion of the measuring tape and the outer end portion of the spring, and can be easily connected and detached, and has excellent connection stability. However, the narrow part on the front side of the outer end of the spring needs a certain length for the stability of the coupling, so that the narrow part on the front side of the tongue is warped against the surface of the measuring tape. Locking device for measuring tape provided in the vicinity of the outlet of the main body case and the outlet when the tape measure is extended from the main body ace wound and stored for replacement etc. to the connecting part. In some cases, the projecting portion is stuck and the feeding cannot be performed smoothly.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a novel tape measure that can be smoothly extended to a connecting portion between a measuring tape and a winding spring with a simple configuration. .

  The tape measure according to the invention of claim 1 includes a main body case, a measuring tape housed in the main body case so as to be freely wound and unwound, and connected to an inner end portion of the measuring tape to urge and wind the measuring tape. The winding spring is made of a tape-like spring material wound and housed in a main body case, and an outer end portion of the winding spring has a neck portion and Then, a connecting engagement piece is formed which is connected to this and is formed with a wide tongue piece portion having a convex edge at the leading edge, and a connecting engagement hole narrower than the wide tongue piece portion is formed on the inner end portion of the measuring tape. The connection engagement hole and a series of connection engagement piece insertion guide slot portions are formed along the longitudinal direction of the measurement tape, and the front side edge of the connection engagement hole in the measurement tape longitudinal direction is the connection member. Insert the piece into the coupling engagement hole and overlap the measuring tape and take-up spring along the longitudinal direction. Sometimes it overlaps with the leading edge of the wide tongue piece with a small width, and when the leading edge of the wide tongue piece is pressed, the overlap between the leading edge and the edge is reversed, but the wide tongue piece The end in the width direction is configured to be supported by the side edge of the connecting engagement hole without being reversed.

  In the present invention, it is desirable that the measuring tape is made of a steel sheet convex tape as in the invention of claim 2, and in this case, the connection of the connecting engagement pieces is performed as in the invention of claim 3. The insertion into the engagement hole is preferably performed from the convex curve side of the measurement tape.

  In the tape measure of the present invention, the measurement tape longitudinal direction front side edge portion of the connection engagement hole formed in the inner end portion of the measurement tape has the connection engagement piece formed in the outer end portion of the winding spring. When the measuring tape and take-up spring are overlapped in the longitudinal direction after being inserted into the coupling engagement hole, the leading edge of the wide tongue piece is overlapped with the leading edge of the wide tongue piece. When the is pressed, the overlap between the tip edge and the edge is reversed, but the width direction end of the wide tongue piece is not reversed with the side edge of the coupling engagement hole. Since it is configured to be supported, the outer end of the take-up spring engages with the inner end of the measuring tape so as to be entangled with the front and back, and the inner end of the measuring tape is connected to the outer end of the take-up spring.・ Easy connection. Moreover, since the overlap with the side edge of the coupling engagement hole is reversed simply by pressing the front edge of the wide tongue piece, the amount of protrusion of the front edge from the measuring tape surface is small, and As described above, there is no concern that the measuring tape is stuck when it is paid out. Further, since the connection engagement hole and the connection engagement piece insertion guide slot portion are formed in series, only one connection hole is required and the processing is simple.

  If the measuring tape is made of a steel sheet convex tape, the shape retention of the curved shape and the restoring force of the tip when the tip edge of the wide tongue piece is pressed and reversed are combined. The bond is made more stable. In this case, if the connection engagement piece is inserted into the connection engagement hole from the convex curved portion side of the measurement tape, the coupling is further stabilized.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing an embodiment of the tape measure of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded plan view of a connecting portion between a measuring tape and a winding spring in the tape measure, and FIGS. 3 to 5 are connections of the connecting portion. FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 5.

  A tape measure A shown in FIG. 1 allows a long measuring tape 2 with a scale to be wound around a take-up shaft 3 in a split main body case 1 formed of a hard synthetic resin or the like so as to be freely wound and fed out. It is stored. The measuring tape 2 is composed of a convex tape made of a steel plate curved in the width direction, and a winding spring in which a base end portion is fixed to a winding shaft 3 at an inner end portion 2A on the base side as described later. The outer end portion 4 </ b> A that is the front end side of 4 is connected. FIG. 1 shows a state in which all of the measuring tape 2 is drawn out. Normally, the measuring tape 2 is elastically wound around a winding shaft 3 and is wound around a winding drum as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. (Tape take-up reel) 5 is wound around the periphery. The measuring tape 2 can maintain a straight line shape when it is fed out due to the shape memory characteristic of the convex tape to the curved shape, as is conventionally known. Also, a long tape made of a plastic material other than the convex tape can be used.

  A hook member 2 a that also serves as a measurement reference metal fitting is attached to the tip of the measurement tape 2, and when the measurement tape 2 is stored in the main body case 1, the hook member 2 a is exposed and locked to the outlet 1 a of the main body case 1. Is done. When the measuring tape 2 is fed out from the feeding opening 1a, the measuring tape 2 is pulled out against the biasing elasticity of the mainspring 4. However, if it is released as it is, it will be rewound by this biasing elasticity. In this tape measure, a lock device 6 is incorporated for stopping the measuring tape 2 at a desired feeding position. The lock device 6 is unlocked by operating the lock release button 6a. As the lock device 6 and the lock release button 6a, a conventionally known lock / unlock mechanism is adopted, and the detailed structure thereof is described here. Omit.

  The outer end 4A of the winding spring 4 is formed with a connecting engagement piece 40 comprising a narrow neck portion 41 and a wide tongue piece portion 42 which is connected to the neck portion 41 and has a tip edge portion 42a formed in a convex shape. Has been. Reference numeral 43 denotes a small hole for appropriately inserting a pin-like object to prevent the rewinding of the winding spring 4 and locking it to the payout opening 1a of the main body case 1. On the other hand, the inner end 2A of the measuring tape 2 has a connecting engagement hole 21 narrower than the wide tongue piece 42 and a series of connecting engagements with the connecting engagement hole 21 along the longitudinal direction of the measuring tape 2. A slot portion 22 for one insertion guide is formed. The side edge portions 21a and 21a of the coupling engagement hole 21 are formed in a corrugated shape in the illustrated example, but may be linear or a gentle arc shape, and the width between the side edge portions 21a and 21a. As long as d is smaller than the width D of the wide tongue piece 42, the shape is not limited. The width d1 of the slot portion 22 is slightly larger than the thickness of the winding spring 4 so that the coupling engagement piece 40 can be inserted. In the illustrated example, the slot portion 22 is formed in series toward the distal end side of the measuring tape 2 with respect to the coupling engagement hole 21, but may be formed toward the proximal end portion side.

  Next, a connection structure between the inner end 2A of the measuring tape 2 and the outer end 4A of the winding spring 4 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the outer end 4 </ b> A of the take-up spring 4 is connected to the series of connecting engagement holes 21 and the slot 22 so as to be orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the measuring tape 2 from the convex side of the measuring tape 2. The neck part 41 and the wide tongue piece part 42 are protruded on the concave curved part side of the measuring tape 2. In this state, the wide tongue piece 42 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow Y, and the inner end 2A of the measuring tape 2 and the outer end 4A of the take-up spring 4 are along the longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. They are overlapped so as to cross each other through the coupling engagement hole 21. In this superposed state, both side portions (width direction end portions) 42b, 42b of the wide tongue piece portion 42 overlap on both side edge portions 21a, 21a of the connection engagement hole 21, and the tip end edge portion 42a is connected. It overlaps with a small width on the measurement tape longitudinal direction front side edge portion 21b of the engagement hole 21 (in the illustrated example, the coupled corner base portion of the slot portion 22).

  When the leading edge 42a of the wide tongue piece 42 is pressed toward the convex portion of the measuring tape 2, the leading edge 42a and the edge 21b are elastically deformed as shown in FIG. The top and bottom overlaps. At this time, the overlap between the side edges 42b, 42b of the wide tongue piece 42 and the side edges 21a, 21a of the coupling engagement hole 21 is not reversed, and the side edges 42b, 42b The connection engagement piece 40 is carried on the 21 a and is engaged with the connection engagement hole 21. A stable connection structure between the measuring tape 2 and the take-up spring 4 is formed by this engagement relationship and the above reversal. In this case, the tip edge portion 42a of the wide tongue piece 42 is inverted in a state where it sunk into the convex curved portion side of the measuring tape 2. However, since this inverted portion is small in width, it goes to the convex curved portion side of the measuring tape 2. The protruding amount of is small. Accordingly, even when the measuring tape 2 is fed from the main body case 1 to the inner end 2A for replacement or the like, the protruding front end edge portion 42a sticks to the feeding port 1a of the main body case 1, the locking device 6 or the like. There is nothing. In particular, when the measuring tape 2 is made of a convex tape made of a steel plate, both side portions 42b and 42b of the wide tongue piece portion 42 are supported by both side edge portions 21a and 21a of the coupling engagement hole 21 when reversed. Since it is restrained, the front end edge portion 42a is deformed so as to follow the curved shape of the measuring tape 2, the projection amount is further reduced, and the connection stability is further improved by its restoring elasticity.

  The tip edge 42a is pressed from the convex curve side of the measuring tape 2, and the tip edge 42a is reversed opposite to the above to cause the tip edge 42a to appear on the concave curve side of the measurement tape 2. (The state of FIG. 4) Next, the measuring tape 2 is easily detached and separated by pulling out the connecting engaging piece 40 from the connecting engaging hole 21 by an operation reverse to the above. As described above, since the measurement tape 2 and the winding spring 4 can be easily connected and detached, the number of man-hours is not increased in the production of the tape measure A, and replacement maintenance of the measurement tape 2 can be easily performed. It can be carried out.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the coupling engagement piece 40 is connected to the coupling engagement hole 21 from the convex curved portion side of the measuring tape 2 has been described. Anyway. Further, the shape of the edge portion 21b of the coupling engagement hole 21 is not limited to that shown in the figure, and in particular, when the slot portion 22 is formed on the base end side of the measuring tape 2, the connection engagement hole 21 has a shape. As the protruding shape protruding in the center direction, it is desirable that the protruding portion overlaps with the tip edge portion 42a of the wide tongue piece portion 42 with a small width.

It is a partial notch front view which shows one Embodiment of the tape measure of this invention. It is a decomposition | disassembly top view of the connection part of the measuring tape and winding spring in the tape measure. It is a top view which shows the connection point of the connection part, and shows the state which inserts a connection engagement piece in a connection engagement hole. It is a top view which shows the connection point of the connection part, and shows the state which overlap | superposed the inner end part of the measuring tape, and the outer end part of a winding spring after inserting a connection engagement piece in a connection engagement hole. It is a top view which shows the connection point of the connection part, and shows the state which reversed the front end edge part of the connection engagement piece with the front side edge part of a connection engagement hole. FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 5.

Explanation of symbols

1 Body case 1
2 Measuring Tape 2A Inner End 21 Connection Engagement Hole 21a Side Edge 21b Front Side Edge 22 Slot 4 Winding Spring 4A Outer 40 Connection Engagement 41 Neck 42 Wide Tongue 42a Tip Edge Part 42b side part (width direction end part)
A tape measure

Claims (3)

A tape measure comprising a main body case, a measuring tape housed in the main body case so as to be rewound and unwound, and a winding spring connected to the inner end of the measuring tape and urging and energizing the measuring tape. There,
The winding spring is made of a tape-shaped spring material wound and housed in a main body case. The winding spring has a wide neck with a neck and a convex edge at the outer end. A coupling engagement piece comprising a tongue piece is formed, and a coupling engagement hole narrower than the wide tongue piece is formed at the inner end of the measurement tape, and the connection engagement hole along the longitudinal direction of the measurement tape. And a series of connecting engagement piece insertion guide slot portions, and the measuring tape longitudinal direction front side edge portion of the connecting engagement hole is formed by inserting the connecting engagement piece into the connecting engagement hole. When the leading edge of the wide tongue piece is overlapped with a small width when the winding spring and the winding spring are overlapped in the longitudinal direction, when the leading edge of the wide tongue piece is pressed, Although the overlap with the edge is reversed, the width direction end of the wide tongue piece is reversed with the side edge of the coupling engagement hole. Measuring tape, characterized in that it is configured to be supported on the side edges. The tape measure of claim 1,
A tape measure characterized in that the measuring tape is a convex tape made of steel plate. The tape measure according to claim 2,
The tape measure characterized in that the insertion of the connection engagement piece into the connection engagement hole is performed from the convex curve side of the measurement tape.

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