Linear measuring instrument with incorporated braking device

Claim 2

A linear measuring instrument, comprising a handle, a pair of elongated spaced-apart side plates extending from said handle, in which each of the side plates comprises a resilient elastically deformable material and is stressed to tend to inwardly camber, a tape winding mechanism rotatably mounted between said plates and comprising a hub having a friction pad on the outer face thereof bearing against one of said side plates, a tape drum freely mounted about the hub and having a laterally protruding friction ring mounted thereon and bearing against the other of said side plates and means defining at least one recess therein, a winding handle pivotally mounted on the hub between a winding position and a rest position, and means for releasably connecting the drum and the hub when the winding handle is in the winding position comprising a projection on the winding handle engageable with said at least one recess in said drum, whereby the portion of each side plate bearing against a part of the tape winding mechanism provides a frictional braking effect upon rotation of the tape winding mechanism.

Claim 3

An instrument according to claim 1, comprising spring means housed in a recess in the hub for releasably holding the winding handle either in its windiNg position or in a rest position.

Claim 4

An instrument according to claim 2, in which said spring means comprise a spring-urged member pressed against an end part of the winding handle adjacent to the pivot of the winding handle.

Claim 5

An instrument according to claim 2, in which said spring means comprise a leaf spring pressing against an end part of the winding handle adjacent to the pivot of the winding handle.

Claim 6

An instrument according to claim 1, in which both of the side plates are stressed and tend to inwardly camber, one pair of ends of the side plates is held spaced-apart by a given distance by the handle, and further including spacing means for spacing the other pair of ends of the plates apart also by said given distance, and wherein said winding mechanism is located substantially mid-way along the pair of plates and holds the plates substantially flat and parallel to one another.

Claim 7

A tape measure assembly comprising: a rotatable tape drum; two normally cambered side plates each composed of resilient elastically deformable material and disposed about said tape drum with their bowed portions facing one another; means mounting said tape drum between said two side plates for rotational movement with respect thereto and disposing a portion of said tape drum against the central portion of one of said side plates including a hub member rotatably mounted within said tape drum and having a portion thereof bearing against the central portion of the other of said side plates and receptive of the inward friction force in opposition to the rotational movement of said hub member; means maintaining said two side plates in a deformed state wherein they are substantially parallel to each other so that the central portion of said one side plate exerts an inward friction force on said tape drum in opposition to the rotational movement of said tape drum; and means for effecting manual rotational movement of said tape drum; whereby the frictional force exerted by said one side plate on said tape drum acts as a frictional braking force in opposition to the rotation of said tape drum.

Claim 8

A tape measure assembly comprising: a rotatable tape drum; two normally cambered side plates each composed of resilient elastically deformable material and disposed about said tape drum with their bowed portions facing one another; means mounting said tape drum between said two side plates for rotational movement with respect thereto and disposing a portion of said tape drum against the central portion of one of said side plates including a hub member rotatably mounted within said tape drum and having a portion thereof bearing against the central portion of the other of said side plates and receptive of the inward friction force in opposition to the rotational movement of said hub member; means maintaining said two side plates in a deformed state wherein they are substantially parallel to each other so that the central portion of said one side plate exerts an inward friction force on said tape drum in opposition to the rotational movement of said tape drum; and means for effecting manual rotational movement of said tape drum; whereby the frictional force exerted by said one side plate on said tape drum acts as a frictional braking force in opposition to the rotation of said tape drum.

Claim 9

An assembly according to claim 6, wherein said means for effecting the rotational movement of said tape drum includes a winding handle pivotally mounted on said hub and movable between a winding position and a rest position, and means for releasably connecting the drum and the hub when said winding handle is in said winding position.

Claim 10

An assembly according to claim 7, wherein said means for effecting rotational movement further includes means defining a recess in said hub member and spring means disposed in said recess for biasing said winding handle into said winding and said rest positions.

Claim 11

An assembly according to claim 6, wherein said means maintaining said two plates in a deformed state comprises a handle having a portion thereof disposed between one end portion of both plates and spacing said plates apart by a given distance, spacing means spacing the other end portion of said plates apart by said given distance, and wherein said tape drum is disposed at a central portion of both side plates.