WO2019035036A1 - Measuring tape with reconfigurable end hook - Google Patents

Abstract

A measuring tape device may include a housing having an aperture, a reel assembly, a blade having a first end configured to extend from the housing through the aperture and a second end configured to be wound on the reel assembly, and a configurable end hook disposed at the first end of the blade. The end hook may be configurable to provide a user selectable size or shape.

Description

MEASURING TAPE WITH RECONFIGURABLE END HOOK

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. application no. 62/546,332 filed August 16,

2017, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference it its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Example embodiments generally relate to measuring tape devices, and particularly relate to a measuring tape that has a reconfigurable end hook.

BACKGROUND

Measuring tapes have been around for a very long time, and are common measuring tools used in numerous contexts to obtain linear measurements. Measuring tapes can come in many forms and may be made of cloth, fiber glass, metal, plastic, or the like. The materials used are often dictated by the specific measuring application. For example, tailors and dressmakers typically use a flexible tape that can be easily manipulated between two hands to measure a distance therebetween. However, for construction or carpentry applications, a stiff and often metallic tape is preferred to allow the measuring tape to be extended between an a first location at which one end of the tape is anchored, and the location of the user at whose location the measuring tape is paid out from a reel assembly. The reel assembly may have a manual retracting mechanism or a self-retracting mechanism, typically depending upon the length of the measuring tape. For relatively short measuring tapes (e.g., 12 ft or 25 ft), self- retracting mechanisms are very common. For very long measuring tapes (e.g., larger than 100 ft), a manual retracting mechanism is typically employed.

For nearly a century, metallic tape ribbons with a curved and relatively stiff construction have been preferred for use in self-retracting measuring tapes. The metallic tape ribbon tends to be flexible enough to permit the metallic tape ribbon to be wound onto a spring loaded reel assembly, but stiff enough to have a relatively long standout. By employing an end hook at one end of the tape, the user may take advantage of the standout to pay out the measuring tape toward an anchor point on a media that is to be measured and then conduct the measurement without having to physically move to the anchor point to affix the end hook and then move away to make the measurement. However, if the end hook is unable to be affixed remotely to the anchor point, the operator may ultimately have to physically place the end hook at the anchor point (perhaps after multiple attempts at doing it remotely. Even then, the end hook could slip off sometimes, leading to additional frustration for the operator. Thus, having an end hook that is less likely to slip off, and more likely to engage a medium being measured, can be very attractive to consumers.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES

Some example embodiments may enable the provision of a measuring tape that has a reconfigurable end hook. The operator may be enabled to configure the end hook for the particular purpose for which the operator intends to use the measuring tape. This configurability may improve the user experience associated with use of the measuring tape.

In an example embodiment, a measuring tape device is provided. The measuring tape device may include a housing having an aperture, a reel assembly, a blade having a first end configured to extend from the housing through the aperture and a second end configured to be wound on the reel assembly, and a configurable end hook disposed at the first end of the blade. The end hook may be configurable to provide a user selectable size or shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWF G(S)

Having thus described some example embodiments in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a measuring tape device in accordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the measuring tape device in accordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 3, which is defined by FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D illustrates a statically reconfigurable end hook in each of a plurality of different states into which the end hook is configurable in accordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a dynamically reconfigurable end hook with a rotatable hook member in accordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative design for a dynamically reconfigurable end hook with a rotatable hook member in accordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 6A illustrates a dynamically reconfigurable end hook in a collapsed state in accordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 6B illustrates the end hook of FIG. 6 A in an expanded state in accordance with an example embodiment; and FIG. 7 illustrates a dynamically reconfigurable end hook having multiple rotatable hook members in accordance with an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some example embodiments now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all example embodiments are shown. Indeed, the examples described and pictured herein should not be construed as being limiting as to the scope, applicability or configuration of the present disclosure. Rather, these example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. Furthermore, as used herein, the term "or" is to be interpreted as a logical operator that results in true whenever one or more of its operands are true. As used herein, operable coupling should be understood to relate to direct or indirect connection that, in either case, enables functional interconnection of components that are operably coupled to each other.

As indicated above, some example embodiments may relate to the provision of a measuring tape device that may have an improved end hook. This is accomplished by enabling the end hook to be configurable to various different configurations instead of merely providing a single fixed configuration. FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a measuring tape device, and FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of such device, in accordance with an example embodiment.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a measuring tape device 100 of an example embodiment may include a housing 110 inside which a reel assembly 120 and a self-retraction assembly 130 may be provided. A blade 140 (or tape) portion of the device 100 may be wound onto the reel assembly 120. The blade 140 may be paid out through an aperture 150 formed in the housing 110. Although not required, in some cases, a locking assembly 160 may be provided to enable the reel assembly 120 to be locked to prevent the self-retraction assembly 130 from retracting the blade 140 when the locking assembly 160 is engaged.

The blade 140 has an end hook 170 disposed at one end thereof, and is affixed to the reel assembly 120 at the other end of the blade 140. The end hook 170 may be affixed (temporarily) to an anchor point on a medium that is to be measured. Once the end hook 170 is affixed to the anchor point, the blade 140 may be paid out of the aperture 150 and unwound from the reel assembly 120. When a desired length of the blade 140 has been paid out, the user can make any necessary markings, readings, etc., associated with measuring scale markings that may be printed on the blade 140. The measuring scale markings generally measure length from the end hook 170 in one or more units, with divisions and subdivisions of such units clearly marked on the blade 140.

By fixing the end hook 170 to the anchor point, the self-retraction assembly 130 (which may be spring loaded in some cases) may be prevented from retracting the paid out portions of the blade 140 into the housing 110 (via the aperture 150). Similarly, when the locking assembly 160 is engaged, a force (e.g., a pinching force) may be placed on the blade 140 to prevent retraction or motion of the reel assembly 120 may otherwise be inhibited to prevent the self- retraction assembly 130 from retracting the paid out portions of the blade 140. However, when the end hook 170 is not anchored and the locking assembly 160 is not engaged, the self- retraction assembly 130 may cause the reel assembly 120 to wind the blade 140 back onto the reel assembly 120.

As mentioned above, for a typical measuring tape, when the blade 140 is paid out through the aperture 150, the blade 140 will extend relatively straight out the aperture 150 (although some sagging or droop may be noticed due to the weight of the blade 140). The blade 140 can be extended in a guided fashion toward an intended target anchor point while the blade 140 continues to have sufficient rigidity to standout. When the blade 140 has been extended to allow the end hook 170 to engage the anchor point, or when the operator manually places the end hook 170 at the anchor point, the blade 140 can be extended to perform any intended measurements so long as the end hook 170 remains fixed at the anchor point.

For a typical, flat piece of media that is being measured, the blade 140 (which generally has a shallow U-shaped cross section) lays across the media and the end hook 170 engages the anchor point such that the media and the anchor point are both below the blade 140 (or at least on the same side of the blade 140). However, it is possible that measurements may be desirable in other orientations for the blade 140 and the end hook 170. To attempt to accommodate other orientations, the end hook 170 could, for example, be extended beyond the transverse edges of the blade 140 (e.g., widened) to allow an anchor point disposed on one of the sides of the blade 140 to be engaged. This may add some amount of flexibility to the functioning of the end hook 170, but it may not suffice for other situations. Moreover, the wider end hook 170 may prove to be a disadvantage in other contexts. Thus, it has become clear that, although it is certainly possible to manufacture measuring tapes with different styles of end hook 170, such measuring tapes would each have advantages in some contexts and disadvantages in others. This may lead to the need for any comprehensively complete tool box to have specialized measuring tapes for different situations based on the end hooks on each tape. Operators do not generally want to purchase different measuring tapes with different styles of end hooks. Thus, example embodiments may provide the ability for the operator to configure the end hook 170 to a number of different desirable configurations so that one measuring tape can be used with what is effectively a plurality of different end hook configurations.

In accordance with some example embodiments, configurable end hooks may come in two general classifications including end hooks with fixed or static reconfigurability and end hooks with variable or dynamic reconfigurability. An end hook with fixed or static reconfigurability is reconfigurable one or more times into corresponding different fixed configurations that remain fixed until another fixed configuration is chosen (if possible). Each fixed configuration from which a statically reconfigurable end hook is reconfigured cannot be returned to after reconfiguration. Meanwhile, an end hook with variable or dynamic reconfigurability can be reconfigured back and forth through different configurations that are not permanent (or semi-permanent), but can be changed on the fly at the operator's discretion. Thus, reconfiguration from one state does not prevent a return to that state, as would be the case for a static reconfiguration.

FIG. 3, which is defined by FIGS. 3 A, 3B, 3C and 3D, illustrates an example of an end hook 200 with fixed or static reconfigurability. In this regard, the end hook 200 may originally be provided in the form shown in FIG. 3 A, but may be statically reconfigured to any of the states shown in FIGS. 3B, 3C, and 3D. As can be appreciated from FIGS. 3 Ato 3D, any change in configuration is fixed until another change in configuration is performed so long as such configuration change remains an option. For example, if the operator starts in the configuration of FIG. 3 A, the operator could reconfigure to any of the states shown in FIGS. 3B, 3C or 3D. If the operator reconfigures to the state shown in FIG. 3B, the end hook 200 will retain such configuration until a new configuration is desired. However, returning to the configuration of FIG. 3 A is no longer an option. Instead, the operator may only choose to reconfigure to the states shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D from the configuration of FIG. 3B. If the operator starts in, or changes to, the configuration of FIG. 3C, the only possible reconfiguration option remaining is to reconfigure to the state shown in FIG. 3D. Thus, for example, if the operator chose to reconfigure from the state shown in FIG. 3A to the state shown in FIG. 3D, no further reconfigurations may be possible.

Referring to FIGS. 3 Ato 3D, the end hook 200 includes a base portion 210 that extends substantially parallel to a surface of the blade 140 and is affixed thereto (e.g., via rivets or the like). A hook base portion 220 may extend substantially perpendicular to the base portion 210 in a first direction. However, the hook base portion 220 may include a plurality of removable sections that are operably coupled to the hook base portion 220 (directly or indirectly) via perforations 230. For example, a first base extension portion 240 may be provided in direct contact with each opposing lateral side of the hook base portion 220 (via a set of the perforations 230) to extend away from the hook base portion 220 and effectively widen a distal end of the hook base portion 220. A second base extension portion 242 may be in direct contact with outer surfaces of the first base extension portion 240 (via another set of the perforations 230) on respective outwardly facing edges thereof. The second base extension portion 242 may further effectively widen the hook base portion 220.

Finally, in accordance with this example, crown protrusions 244 may be provided to extend perpendicular to the direction of extension of the base portion 210 in a direction opposite to the direction of extension of the hook base portion 220. The crown protrusions 244 extend away from a top edge of the second base extension portions 242 (via another set of perforations 230) on each respective side of the blade 140 to form a forked set of protrusions that may be useful for engaging certain rounded or otherwise irregularly shaped surfaces or edges as anchor points.

In order to transition from the configuration or state shown in FIG. 3 A to the configuration shown in FIG. 3B, the crown protrusions 244 may be removed (e.g., cut or broken off) along the corresponding set of perforations 230 that separate the crown protrusions 244 from the second base extension portions 242. In order to transition from the state shown in FIG. 3 A or 3B to the state shown in FIG. 3C, the second base extension portions 242 may be removed (e.g., cut or broken off) along the corresponding set of perforations 230 that separate the second base extension portions 242 from respective ones of the first base extension portions 240. In order to transition from the state shown in FIG. 3A, 3B or 3C to the state shown in FIG. 3D, the first base extension portions 240 may be removed (e.g., cut or broken off) along the corresponding set of perforations 230 that separate the first base extension portions 240 from respective opposing sides of the hook base portion 220.

Based on the description above, it should be appreciated that each of the configurations shown in FIGS 3 A, 3B, 3C and 3D is a fixed or permanent state for so long as the configurations are not further changed. However, any changes from one fixed configuration to another fixed configuration systematically eliminate configuration options for further reconfiguration. In other words, if more than one static or fixed configuration state is possible, any change in configuration eliminates at least one (and possibly multiple) configuration options from future use including at least the configuration state that is being changed. End hooks with dynamic or variable reconfigurability do not suffer from this limitation, but are instead able to be transitioned back and forth between states. Thus, leaving a particular state does not preclude a return to the particular state regardless of whether one or more other intermediate states are entered prior to any attempt to return to the particular state. FIGS. 4-7 illustrate examples of end hooks with dynamic or variable reconfigurability

As shown in FIG. 4, one example of a dynamically reconfigurable end hook 300. As shown in FIG. 4, the end hook 300 includes a base portion 310 that extends substantially parallel to a surface of the blade 140 and is affixed thereto (e.g., via a rivet or the like). The end hook 300 may also include a hook base 315 that extends substantially perpendicularly away from a distal end of the base portion 310. The hook base 315 may be operably coupled to a rotatable hook member 320 at a pivot axis 330. The rotatable hook member 320 may rotate with sufficient friction to maintain its position at any desirable orientation about the pivot axis 330. Thus, for example, the rotatable hook member 320 could be oriented to extend parallel with and in substantially the same direction that the hook base 315 extends, as shown in FIG. 4. However, the operator may rotate the rotatable hook member 320 in the direction of arrow 332 to position the rotatable hook member 320 to another position (e.g., as shown in dashed lines by rotated hook 325). Still further rotation in the direction of arrow 334 may be employed to have the rotatable hook member 320 extend in the opposite direction to that shown in FIG. 4 (i.e., upward instead of downward). By rotating the rotatable hook member 320 in either direction, any desirable orientation of the rotatable hook member 320 may be achieved over a 360 degree range.

In the example of FIG. 4, the rotatable hook member 320 presents essentially the same physical structure in any direction according to the positioning of the rotatable hook member 320 about the pivot axis 330. However, other designs may present different physical structures for engagement with the anchor point dependent upon the orientation of the rotatable hook portion. As an example, FIG. 5 illustrates another example of a dynamically reconfigurable end hook 400. As shown in FIG. 5, the end hook 400 includes a base portion (not shown) that extends substantially parallel to a surface of the blade 140 and is affixed thereto (e.g., via a rivet or the like). The end hook 400 may also include a hook base 410 that extends substantially perpendicularly away from a distal end of the base portion. The hook base 410 may be operably coupled to a rotatable hook member 420 at a pivot axis 430. As discussed above, the rotatable hook member 420 may rotate with sufficient friction to maintain its position at any desirable orientation about the pivot axis 430 to allow for 360 degrees of freedom relative to positioning of the rotatable hook member 420. However, unlike the rotatable hook member 320 of FIG. 4, the rotatable hook member 420 presents a different physical structure for engagement with the anchor point dependent upon the orientation of the rotatable hook member 420. Thus, for example, the rotatable hook member 420 may present a relatively flat structure for engagement of the anchor point in at least one orientation, and may present a forked or other irregularly shaped surface for engagement with anchor points that are round or have other unique shapes.

Still other options for providing dynamic reconfigurability are also available. For example, FIG. 6, which is defined by FIGS. 6A and 6B, illustrates a dynamically reconfigurable end hook 500 in accordance with another example embodiment. The end hook 500 of FIG. 6 may also include a base portion that extends substantially parallel to a surface of the blade 140 and is affixed thereto (e.g., via a rivet or the like). The end hook 500 may also include a hook base 510 that extends substantially perpendicularly away from a distal end of the base portion (and the blade 140). The hook base 510 may, in some cases, also be mounted to a pivot axis in the manner shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. However, in this example, the hook base 510 is fixedly mounted to the base portion.

The hook base 510 may be operably coupled to a first slidable hook member 520 and a second slidable hook member 530 such that the first and second slidable hook members 520 and 530 slide over a surface of the hook base 510 to enable movement alternately away from each other and toward each other. When the first and second slidable hook members 520 and 530 are slid toward each other over the surface of the hook base 510, the first and second slidable hook members 520 and 530 may meet each other along one respective edge thereof in order to reduce the overall size or surface area of the end hook 500 to a minimum as shown in FIG. 6A. However, when the first and second slidable hook members 520 and 530 are slid away from each other over the surface of the hook base 510 (i.e., in the directions of double arrow 540), a distance between the first and second slidable hook members 520 and 530 may increase and the overall size or surface area of the end hook 500 may be increased as shown in FIG. 6B.

The ability to expand or reduce the size of the end hook 500 may allow the operator to control the characteristics of the end hook 500 for different applications or different anchor points to maximize the effectiveness of the end hook 500 for a given anchor point. In particular, for example, the end hook 500 can be adjusted to change a width of the end hook 500 from a first width, which may be substantially equal to a width of the blade 140, to a second width, which may be larger than a width of the blade 140. Other structures for accomplishing this functionality are also possible.

In this regard, FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a dynamically reconfigurable end hook 600 that can alternately be reconfigured to have a width smaller than, equal to, or larger than a width of the blade 140. As shown in FIG. 7, the end hook 600 includes a base portion 610 that extends substantially parallel to a surface of the blade 140 and is affixed thereto (e.g., via a rivet or the like). The end hook 600 may also include a hook base 620 that extends substantially perpendicularly away from a distal end of the base portion 610. The hook base 620 may have a width that is generally smaller than a width of the blade 140 at least at a distal end of the hook base 620.

The end hook 600 may further include a first rotatable hook member 630 and a second rotatable hook member 640 that may each be operably coupled to the hook base 620 by respective pivot axes that may be positioned near a proximal end of the hook base 620 (relative to the blade 140). The first and second rotatable hook members 630 and 640 may rotate with sufficient friction to maintain their respective positions at any desirable orientation about their respective pivot axes to define a desired width for the end hook 600. In particular, for example, the first and second rotatable hook members 630 and 640 may be rotated outward (as shown by arrows 650) to make the effective size of the end hook 600 equal to or larger than the width of the blade 140. Alternatively, the first and second rotatable hook members 630 and 640 may be rotated inwardly (e.g., opposite the direction shown by arrows 650) to make the effective size of the end hook 600 equal to or smaller than the width of the blade 140. In either case, the shape of the end hook 600 is also changed with orientation changes made to the first and second rotatable hook members 630 and 640.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings describe exemplary embodiments in the context of certain exemplary combinations of elements and/or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of elements and/or functions may be provided by alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In this regard, for example, different combinations of elements and/or functions than those explicitly described above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of the appended claims. In cases where advantages, benefits or solutions to problems are described herein, it should be appreciated that such advantages, benefits and/or solutions may be applicable to some example embodiments, but not necessarily all example embodiments. Thus, any advantages, benefits or solutions described herein should not be thought of as being critical, required or essential to all embodiments or to that which is claimed herein. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

THAT WHICH IS CLAIMED:

1. A measuring tape device comprising:

a housing having an aperture;

a reel assembly;

a blade having a first end configured to extend from the housing through the aperture and a second end configured to be wound on the reel assembly; and

a configurable end hook disposed at the first end of the blade,

wherein the end hook is configurable to provide a user selectable size or shape.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the end hook is statically reconfigurable.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein end hook is reconfigurable from a first fixed state into one or more new fixed states that remain fixed until another fixed state is chosen.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the first fixed state cannot be returned to once the end hook is reconfigured into the one or more new fixed states.

5. The device of claim 2, wherein the end hook comprises a base portion extending substantially parallel to a surface of the blade and affixed to the blade, wherein the end hook comprises a hook base portion extending substantially perpendicular to the base portion in a first direction, and wherein the hook base portion comprises a plurality of removable sections that are operably coupled to the hook base portion via perforations.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein at least one of the removable sections extends in a second direction opposite the first direction such that portions of the hook base portion extend away from the blade in opposite directions.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the end hook is dynamically reconfigurable.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the end hook is reconfigurable between different configurations such that reconfiguration from a first state into a second state does not prevent a return to the first state.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein the end hook comprises a base portion extending substantially parallel to a surface of the blade and affixed to the blade, wherein the end hook comprises a hook base portion extending substantially perpendicular to the base portion in a first direction, and wherein the hook base portion is operably coupled to a rotatable hook member at a pivot axis.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the rotatable hook member is configured to rotate 360 degrees about the pivot axis.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein the rotatable hook member presents a same size or shape surface for engagement with an anchor point regardless of orientation relative to the pivot axis.

12. The device of claim 9, wherein the rotatable hook member presents a different size or shape surface for engagement with an anchor point for respective different orientations relative to the pivot axis.

13. The device of claim 9, wherein the pivot axis is disposed proximate to a center portion of the rotatable end hook.

14. The device of claim 9, wherein the pivot axis is disposed proximate to an end portion of the rotatable end hook.

15. The device of claim 9, wherein the hook base portion is operably coupled to a second rotatable hook member at a second pivot axis.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the rotatable hook member and the second rotatable hook member are pivotable away from the hook base portion to define an end hook width that is larger than a width of the blade.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein the rotatable hook member and the second rotatable hook member are pivotable toward the hook base portion to define an end hook width that is smaller than a width of the blade.

18. The device of claim 7, wherein the end hook further comprises a first slidable end hook member and a second slidable end hook member operably coupled to the hook base portion.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein the first and second slidable hook members slide toward each other to reduce a size of the end hook.

20. The device of claim 18, wherein the first and second slidable hook members slide away from each other to increase a size of the end hook.