JPH095001A - Tape measure - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a tape measure improved in its bending strength in all the outer circumferential directions, namely in its shape retaining function. CONSTITUTION: This measure comprises a retainer, a reel 10 set thereat rotatably, a tubular tape measure body 11 retained by the reel 10 so that it can be wound or delivered, a scale 12 on the outer surface of the body 11, and a cut 11B on the body 11 along the longitudinal direction. The body 11 is made of stainless steel deformed resiliently into a band shape when wound while being resumed to the tubular shape when delivered. The retainer has a guide part 16 for widening the cut 11B and thereby resiliently deforms the body 11 into the band shape.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape measure for measuring the size and spatial distance of an object, and more particularly to a tape measure provided with a tape measure body having a shape retaining function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a conventional tape measure 100 of this type. The tape measure 100 is held by a holder 101, a reel 102 rotatably mounted in the holder 101, and a reel 102. It has a metal tape measure body 103. The tape measure main body 103 is curved toward the one surface A along the single-handed direction and has a substantially arcuate cross-sectional shape in the single-handed direction, which improves its bending strength, that is, the shape retention function. A scale 104 is provided on one surface A of the tape measure body 103.

When the measurer unwinds the tape measure body 103 and directs one surface A upward, the tape measure body 10 is held by the shape retaining function.
Since 1 is maintained in a substantially linear shape, it is possible to measure the size and spatial distance of an object with one hand without supporting the tip 104 of the tape measure body 101 with one hand.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, since the shape-maintaining function of the tape measure body 103 is limited to one direction, if the one surface A is directed sideways or downward, the tape measure body 103 is unloaded by a certain length. Distortion or flexure in the single-handed direction may occur, or distortion or flexure in the single-handed direction may occur due to the reaction force when the tip of the tape measure body 103 abuts on the wall when measuring the indoor space distance. . As a result, there have been problems that the measurement accuracy is lowered and the measurement work with one hand becomes impossible.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 provides a tape measure capable of improving the shape retaining function in all directions on the outer peripheral side of the tape measure body when the tape measure body is unwound. To do.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a tape measure according to a first aspect of the present invention holds a retainer, a reel rotatably attached to the retainer, and a reel that can be wound and unwound. A tubular tape measure body, a scale provided on the outer surface of the tape measure body, and a cut provided along the longitudinal direction to the tape measure body, the tape measure body is elastically deformed in a strip shape at the time of winding, The holder is made of an elastic material that returns to a tubular shape at the time of feeding, and the retainer is provided with a guide portion that widens the cut and elastically deforms the tape measure body into a strip shape.

Specific examples of the elastic material include metals such as stainless steel, nickel silver and titanium copper alloy, vinyl chloride resin,
Examples include thermoplastics such as polypropylene and polyethylene. Moreover, you may use what gave the spring performance by heat-treating the said metal.

[0008]

In the tape measure according to claim 1, since the tape measure main body fed from the reel is tubular, the bending strength corresponding to all directions on the outer peripheral side, that is, the shape retaining function is improved. Further, when the tape measure body is wound up, the guide portion widens the cut to elastically deform the tape measure body into a band shape.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tape measure B according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 (A) is a front sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.
FIG. 2B is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG. The tape measure B has a cage 1 formed of plastic or the like.
And The two halves 2 and 3 are joined and fixed by screws (not shown).

The two halves 2 and 3 are both formed into a plate shape, and edge portions 4 and 5 are provided on the outer periphery thereof so as to face each other. Circular holding portions 6 and 7 are formed so as to project on the facing surfaces of the two halves 2 and 3, that is, on the inner surfaces. The outer diameters of the holding portions 6 and 7 are set to be the same, and the protruding amount thereof is set to be smaller than the protruding amount of the edge portions 4 and 5. Therefore, a gap is formed between the holding portions 6 and 7.

Further, a cylindrical positioning pin 8 is provided on the inner surface of the half-divided body 2 at the center of the holding portion 6, while a cylinder provided concentrically with the holding portion 7 on the inner surface of the half-divided body 3. A cylindrical positioning cylinder 9 is provided. The outer diameter of the positioning pin 8 is
The diameter is set to be slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the positioning cylinder 9. The length of the positioning pin 8 and the length of the positioning cylinder 9 are set shorter than the distance between the facing surfaces of the two halves 2 and 3.

An annular reel 10 is housed inside the holder 3, and the reel 10 is rotatably held by holding portions 6 and 7. This reel 10 is a tubular tape measure body 1.
1 is held so that it can be rolled up and unwound. The tape measure main body 11 is elastically deformed into a strip shape by a load and is restored to a tubular shape by removing the load, for example, a metal such as stainless steel, nickel silver, titanium copper alloy, vinyl chloride resin,
Molded with thermoplastics such as polypropylene and polyethylene. Moreover, you may use what gave the spring performance by heat-treating the said metal.

Now, the manufacturing process of the tape measure body 11 will be described. First, a tubular body 11A as shown in FIG. 3A is manufactured by extrusion molding. Then, a scale 1 is provided on the outer surface of the tubular body 11A.
After performing 2, the tubular body 11A is cut along the longitudinal direction as indicated by the line EE to complete the tape measure body 11 having the cuts 11B as shown in FIG. 3 (B). At this time, the tape measure body 11 slightly contracts in the circumferential direction due to its elastic restoring force, and both side edges facing the cut 11B are overlapped along the longitudinal direction.

The tape measure main body 11 manufactured in this manner is elastically deformed into a strip shape by widening the cut 11B, one end side of which is fixed to the reel 10 and wound around the reel 10, and the other end side is provided on the side surface of the cage 3. It is inserted into the circular doorway 13.
A metal fitting 14 is attached to the other end of the tape measure body 11 to keep the other end of the tape measure body 11 in a tubular shape at all times. This metal fitting 14
Also has a function of positioning the scale 12 divided by the cut 11B. In this embodiment, the tape measure body 11 is wound around the reel 10 with the cut 11B facing the outer peripheral side.

Inside the cage 1, a pair of guide rollers 15 are provided.
Is provided, and the tape measure main body 11 elastically deformed in a band shape is sandwiched by a pair of guide rollers 15. Further, a guide portion 16 that widens the cut 11 </ b> B is provided between the entrance / exit 13 and the pair of guide rollers 15 inside the cage 1. The guide portion 16 has a wedge shape that tapers from the pair of guide rollers 15 toward the inlet / outlet 13 side. The guide portion 16 is always in the state of cutting into the cut 11B.

On the other hand, a spiral spring 17 is arranged between the positioning cylinder 9 and the holding portions 6 and 7, and this spiral spring 1
The inner peripheral end of 7 is fixed to the positioning cylinder 9, and the outer peripheral end of the reel 1
It is fixed to the inner circumference of 0. The winding direction of the spiral spring 17 and the winding direction of the tape measure body 11 are the same.

An opening 18 is provided on the side surface of the cage 1 and extends over the edges 4 and 5, and the opening 18 is provided inside the cage 1.
There is a button 19 exposed to the outside. The button 19 is formed in a "dogleg" shape, and is rotatable within a certain angle range about a central support shaft 20 as a fulcrum. A base 21 is provided inside the cage 1, and a compression spring 22 is mounted between the base 21 and one end of the button 19.
A pad 23 made of a rubber-like elastic material is fixed to the other end of the button 19.

When the tape measure B configured as described above is not used, as shown in FIG. 2, most of the tape measure main body 11 is elastically deformed into a strip shape and wound around the reel 10, and the attachment 14A of the metal fitting 14 is held. It is in contact with the side surface of the container 1. Further, the button 19 is urged clockwise by the elastic force of the compression spring 22 about the support shaft 20 as a fulcrum, and the pad 23 causes the reel 10 to move.
Is in contact with the outer peripheral edge of.

Next, when the metal fitting 14 is grasped and pulled, the pad 23
The reel 10 rotates counterclockwise in the figure against the frictional resistance between the reel 10 and the elastic force of the spiral spring 11, and the tape measure main body 11 is gradually fed out from the reel 10. On this occasion,
When the tape measure body 11 passes through the guide portion 16, the spreading force from the guide portion 16 is released, and the elastic restoring force of the tape measure body 11 makes it a tubular shape.

Then, when the tape measure main body 11 is fed out by a predetermined amount and the hand is released from the metal fitting 14, the pad 23 and the reel 1 are released.
Since the frictional resistance with 0 overcomes the elastic force of the spiral spring 11 and the reel 10 stops at that position, the measurer may measure the size of the object, the distance in the indoor space, etc. with the tape measure main body 11.

At the time of this measurement, since the tape measure main body 11 is tubular, the bending strength corresponding to all directions (360 degrees) on the outer peripheral side thereof, that is, the shape retaining function is improved. Therefore, even if any position on the outer peripheral surface of the tape measure main body 11 is directed upward, it is possible to prevent distortion or bending due to its own weight as much as possible, and when measuring the spatial distance, the tape measure main body 11 is measured.
Even if the tip of the tip touches a wall or the like, distortion or bending can be prevented as much as possible due to the abutting pressure, measurement accuracy is improved, and measurement work is always performed with one hand without holding the tip by hand. There is an effect that can be done.

Further, since the tape measure main body 11 is elastically deformed into a strip shape and wound on the reel 10, the winding diameter can be made as small as possible, and the tape measure A can be made compact as a whole. Further, since the scale 12 is provided in the entire area of the tape measure body 11 in the circumferential direction, there is an effect that the measurer can visually check the scale from anywhere on the outer peripheral side of the tape measure body 11 without taking an unnatural posture.

When the measurement work is completed as described above,
When the button 19 is pushed and slightly rotated counterclockwise in the drawing with the support shaft 20 as a fulcrum, the pad 23 separates from the outer peripheral edge of the reel 10, so that the tape measure body 11 is wound around the reel 10 by the elastic force of the spiral spring 17. It will be.

During this winding operation, the guide portion 16 is forced to widen the cut 11B, so that the winding operation can be carried out smoothly. Further, since the portion of the tape measure body 11 located outside the cage 1 is tubular, even if the tape measure body 11 comes into contact with a finger or the like due to the momentum during winding, there is no risk of injury and it is safe. . And FIG.
When the claw 14A of the metal fitting 14 contacts the side surface of the cage 1 as shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, the thickness of the tape measure main body 11 is set to several tens of μm so as to ensure bending strength in which distortion and flexure are unlikely to occur during measurement and to allow elastic deformation during winding smoothly. The outer diameter may be set to about 5 mm to 10 mm. Needless to say, these dimensions are determined according to the strength of the selected material.

Further, a structure may be adopted in which the cut 11B is wound around the reel 10 so as to face the inner peripheral side. In this case, it goes without saying that the guide portion 16 is provided at a position corresponding to the position of the cut 11B.

Further, the reel 1 without the spiral spring 17 is provided.
If a lever (not shown) is provided on the side surface of 0 and the lever is exposed to the outside of the retainer 1, the reel 10 can be manually rotated.

Furthermore, if a metal material provided with a spring property is used for the tape measure body 11, its elastic restoring force is stronger and durability is improved. Further, when thermoplastic resin is used for the tape measure main body 11, the weight is lighter than that when metal is used, and there is an effect that it is easy to handle.

Furthermore, a motor (not shown) is provided inside the cage 1, and the driving force of this motor is more than the sum of the frictional resistance between the pad 23 and the reel 10 and the elastic force of the spiral spring 17. By setting a large value and rotating the pair of guide rollers 15 with this motor, the tape measure main body 1
It is also possible to automatically roll out 1.

[0030]

As described above, the tape measure according to claim 1 becomes tubular when the tape measure main body is drawn out, and the bending strength corresponding to all directions (360 degrees) on the outer peripheral side thereof, that is, the shape retention function is improved. Even if any position on the outer circumference side of the tape measure body is directed upward or the tip of the tape measure body is brought into contact with a wall or the like when measuring the spatial distance, it is possible to prevent distortion or bending as much as possible. The measurement accuracy is improved, and the measurement work can be performed with one hand at all times without holding the tip by hand.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tape measure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 (A) is a tape measure according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a front vertical cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 (B) is a side vertical cross-sectional view taken along line DD of FIG.

3A and 3B are schematic perspective views showing a manufacturing process of a tape measure main body of a tape measure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a conventional tape measure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cage 10 Reel 11 Tape measure main body 12 Scale 16 Guide part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A retainer, a reel rotatably attached to the retainer, a tubular tape measure body held by the reel so as to be wound and unwound, and a scale provided on an outer surface of the tape measure body. And a cut provided along the longitudinal direction to the tape measure body, the tape measure body is elastically deformed into a strip shape at the time of winding,
A tape measure, which is made of an elastic material that returns to a tubular shape when the tape is unrolled, and is provided with a guide portion for expanding the cut and elastically deforming the tape measure body into a band shape.