Patent Application
20050223582
1. Field of Invention
A compact tape measure device having a plurality of independent reels supplied with different conversion scales for architects and engineers allows an architect or engineer to convert linear measurement scales on drawings and blueprints, the device providing three or more reels of incremental measured tape having printed scales on an upper surface and lower surface of each tape, allowing for at least twelve different measured scales provided to either convert feet to inches of differing converted scales or metric to U.S. measurement scale.
2. Description of Prior Art
The following United States patents were discovered and are disclosed within this application for utility patent. All relate to tape measuring devices with multiple measuring margins or reeled tapes.
Dual tape measuring devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,506,446 to Mitchell, 2,240,753 to Bouchard and 3,885,314 to Banas, Sr. All three of these tape measuring devices have opposing measuring tapes which allow for the measurement of two different locations with two tapes with independent markings on the tapes.
Tape measuring devices to measure anatomical areas, most dealing with breast size or brassier sizes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,276,069 to Chadwick, 5,414,943 to Vogt and 5,619,804 to Vogt, with one tape measuring girth and the other tape measuring cup size, or having two independent scales for measuring for the appropriately sized undergarment support.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,710 to Hastings combines a square angle measuring device with a retractable steel tape, which would appear to be an aggregate invention, but was apparently allowed. In U.S. Pat. No. D497,317 to Lee, one of several examples of a design patent of a tape measuring encasement is disclosed. Numerous other design patents for tape measuring devices were also explored, with none bearing common aesthetic embodiment of the present encasement of the present tape measuring device.
In the architect and engineering industry, office work often involves drafting or interpretation of linear scaled blueprints and drawings which must be to precision scale to insure accuracy of construction and fulfillment of safety concerns. The office usually has plenty of work space, and an architect or engineer generally has all the templates, rulers, and other drafting tools necessary to perform the office tasks. However, the job site is a different story.
In the field, where the actual construction is taking place, the engineer doing the building from the drafted plans does not have all the tools necessary to interpret the drawings and make on site determinations of dimensions for the actual construction, unless the person reading the drawings has several different rulers with conversion scales. This would require the engineer to carry around an assortment of rulers wherever he goes, especially since a construction site generally has several copies of the blueprints and drawings at different locations the construction site, the engineer having to attend to several different locations during his supervision of the construction. If a conventional, single reeled tape measure were employed, having but one upper surface and one lower surface with left and right margins, only four potential scales could be applied to that device. To have twelve scales, or all the essential scales commonly required for multiple blueprints with multiple scaled drawings, one would need three tape measuring devices to have twelve scales, and one would be required to choose the one measuring device appropriate for the scaled interpretation task.
The present invention is a small, compact device which may be carried in one's pocket which has several different measured conversion scales which can be used on the job site to be used with blueprints and construction drawings without having to transport several rulers, including the twelve basic conversion scales most commonly used in the art of architectural conversion. At least three different tape reels are contained within an outer shell, each tape reel being retractable within the outer wheel, each tape having two measured scales on an upper surface and two measured scales on a lower surface, a three reel dispenser having a total of twelve different measured conversion scales. Therefore, having three reeled tapes would not be a mere duplication of a single component, but each tape would have a unique use in that each tape bears a unique and distinct conversion scale, thus providing the three tapes an actual novel utility purpose, not merely a duplicate component, as might be an objection lodged as an argument against novelty or by raising a rejection to obviousness. The device may contain more than three reels, but should not have so many reels that it cannot be transported in a pocket or a small case.
The primary objective of the device is therefore to provide a scaled measuring device having at least three independent retractable tape reels within a singular outer shell having a plurality of scaled measured conversion increments imprinted upon an upper and lower surface of each tape contained upon each tape reel, including at least, twelve basic conversion scales commonly used in architectural drawings.
The following drawings are submitted with this utility patent application.
A multiple reeled conversion retractable tape measuring device 10, shown in
The conversion scales which are imprinted on the retractable reeled tapes should include the conversion scales, numbering at least twelve, as follows:
As the first, second and third reeled tapes 40, 60, 80 each have two margins on two surfaces, there would be provided twelve margins in total, each conversion scale would be applied to a single margin on a single surface, as indicated in
Each retractable reel 30, 50, 70, as indicated in
The device 10 may also contain a first tape brake 90a, second tape brake 90b and third tape break 90c contained within the tape encasement 20 near each respective perimeter opening 26a, 26b, 26c which may be applied to retain the respective retractable reeled tape 40, 60, 80 at a chosen length without being retracted back into the tape encasement 20 during use, as indicated in
The overall size of the device 10 would be preferably less than four inches in order to be transferred within a person's pants pocket or small case attached to a belt (not shown). The overall shape of the device 10 would preferably be similar to a three-leafed clover, but a triangular shape is also acceptable for a three reeled tape embodiment as shown in the drawings. Although the drawings depict a three reeled embodiment, the device 10 is contemplated to have more than three reels with tape, which would allow for up to four more conversion scales for each tape added, provided the device 10 does not become so large as to lose the ability to transport the device 10 in a compact manner. Additionally, the disclosed scales above pertain generally to architectural scales, but engineering conversion scales or metric conversions scales are also contemplated as useful scales to provide on a measured retractable tape surface.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Applicant claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application No. 60/561,466 filed Apr. 12, 2004.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60561466 | Apr 2004 | US |
