Tape measure with tape braking control mechanism

Claim 1

Tape measure comprising a substantially closed housing formed of at least two mating hollow housing portions normally joined along a parting line defining a parting plane to form an internal compartment and top, bottom, front, rear and a pair of opposing side walls, said housing having an opening in the form of a slot normal to the parting plane generally in the region where said front and bottom walls join; a spring loaded tape cartridge including a coilable tape provided with measurement indicia and rotatably mounted within said compartment to position a free end of said tape for passage through said opening along a movement path or direction and substantially parallel to said bottom wall, said tape cartridge being biased to retract said tape into said compartment when said free end is pulled externally of said housing to extend said tape to perform a measurement; stop means at said free end to engage a workpiece and to assure that said free end remains exterior to said housing and available for gripping by a user; first friction producing means acting between said housing and said tape cartridge for normally applying a substantially constant frictional force on said tape cartridge to normally maintain said tape in any desired extracted or extended position; second friction producing means for selectively applying increased, intermediate and decreased frictional forces on said tape cartridge to supplement said substantially constant frictional forces; locking means for selectively applying a substantially normal pressure to said tape transverse to said movement path to positively lock said tape against said housing and to prevent said tape from moving; finger actuated control means selectively engageable with said second friction producing means and positionable between a locking position, releasing position and neutral position, said control means actuating said second friction producing means for decreasing said frictional forces in said releasing position while maintaining said locking means out of engagement with said tape, said control means urging said locking means into contact with said tape and actuating said second friction producing means for increasing said frictional forces in said locking position, and said control means actuating said second friction producing means for applying intermediate frictional forces on said cartridge while maintaining said locking means out of engagement with said tape in said neutral position of said control means.