Compact tape measure having dual brake

Abstract

A tape measure including a housing, a reel rotatably mounted inside the housing, and a blade drawn out through an entrance of the housing may comprise: a wedge part provided to be in close contact with the blade wound on the reel; a pressing rod which has one end to which the wedge part is connected, rotates about a button rotary shaft formed at the housing, and presses the wedge part in a direction in which the wedge part comes into close contact with the blade; a release button which rotates about the button rotary shaft and is interlocked with the pressing rod to temporarily separate the wedge part from the blade; and a reel fixing button which rotates about the button rotary shaft and presses the reel to restrict or release rotation of the reel, wherein the releasing button and the reel fixing button are released to the outside.

Description

[0001]

specification

[0002]

Title of invention

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Technical Field

[0004]

Background Technology of the Invention

[0005]

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0006] [Technical Problem] The present invention provides a compact tape measure having a dual brake that can supplement the self-locking function while reducing the number of parts and pursuing miniaturization. The present invention provides a compact tape measure having a dual brake that allows play in the operation of the self-lock so that the self-locking function can be released only when the button moves a certain depth or more.

[0007] [Technical Solution] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above-described objects of the present invention, a compact tape measure having a dual brake according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a housing, a reel rotatably mounted inside the housing, and a blade pulled out through an inlet of the housing, and in addition, a wedge that comes into close contact with the blade wound on the reel, a pressing rod that is connected to one end of the wedge and rotates around a button rotation axis formed in the housing and presses the wedge in a direction to bring the wedge into close contact with the blade, an unlock button that rotates about the button rotation axis and works in conjunction with the pressing rod to temporarily separate the wedge from the blade, and a reel fixing button that rotates about the button rotation axis and presses the reel to restrict or release rotation of the reel, wherein the unlocking button and the reel fixing button can be exposed to the outside of the housing. The rotation of the reel can be directly or indirectly restricted by the reel fixing button, and the space occupied by the manual brake in the housing of the tape measure can be reduced by restricting the movement of the nearest reel rather than the blade. In addition, the reel fixing button can be exposed from the housing at the front lower side of the unlocking button, and the user can easily control the rotation and release of the reel through appropriate use of the unlocking button and the reel fixing button. In order to miniaturize the housing, the reel fixing button can be mounted on the button rotation shaft and include a fixing protrusion protruding toward the outermost rim (rim) of the reel. Therefore, by the rotation of the reel fixing button located on the outside, the fixing protrusion located on the inside can approach the outermost rim of the reel to directly fix the reel. For reference, in the conventional manual brake, the manual brake is used to fix the blade, and since the distance to the blade is also far, a separate brake member had to be provided to reach the blade, and therefore, it was difficult to miniaturize the housing.However, in the tape measure according to the present embodiment, the reel fixing button is mounted on the button rotation shaft, and the operation of the reel fixing button and the fixing projection are directly or indirectly linked, so that the operation is simple, the distance to the reel to be stopped is very short, so that no intermediate member is required, and the reel can be fixed with the least amount of force because the outermost rim of the reel, which is the location with the largest radius, is stopped by friction. In this way, the reel fixing button can be positioned at a short distance from the reel, and its operating principle is simple, so that it is also advantageous for miniaturization. However, if the rotation of the reel fixing button is excessive, the fixing projection may come off from the outermost rim of the reel. To prevent this, the unlocking button may include a rising projection that supports the lower end of the reel fixing button at the location where the fixing projection engages the outermost rim. As described below, the rising protrusion is originally intended to lift the reel holding button in conjunction with the unlock button by causing the reel holding button to be lifted by the rising protrusion when the unlock button is pressed, but the rising protrusion can also be used to limit the downward movement range of the reel holding button. When the reel holding button is raised, the holding protrusion can also be separated from the outermost rim, so that the temporary release of the self-locking function can be operated in conjunction. According to the present embodiment, the pressure rod and the unlocking button can be separated and moved independently. Conventionally, the pressure rod and the unlocking button are formed as one piece or are always in contact with each other, so that even a slight movement of the unlocking button can immediately release the self-locking function. In the present embodiment, the pressure rod and the unlocking button are separated so that a slight movement of the unlocking button does not immediately lead to the release of the self-locking. In addition, conventionally, the pressurized rod and the unlock button are formed integrally or are always in contact with each other, so that the self-locking is repeatedly released and engaged during the process of the blade being pulled out of the housing, and the unlock button can continue to move up and down.In addition, since the unlock button moves up and down, a sufficient gap must be formed between the unlock button and the housing, but foreign substances can easily enter the inside of the tape measure through this gap. In the present embodiment, the pressurized rod is separate from the unlock button, and the upper end of the pressurized rod, which is located above the button rotation axis, is located inside the unlock button, and a gap exists between the unlock button and the upper end of the pressurized rod, so that the unlock button can only come into contact with the upper end of the pressurized rod when it is pressed a certain depth or more. Therefore, even if the release and engagement of the self-lock are repeatedly performed in the process of withdrawing the blade out of the housing, if the unlock button does not continue to move up and down and remains stationary, the button does not move, so that the gap between the unlock button and the housing can be formed to be minimal or almost non-existent, and foreign substances can be blocked from entering through the gap. Above all, even if the unlock button is unintentionally pressed shallowly during the process of withdrawing the blade, the movement of the button is not transmitted to the pressurized rod, so that the user can withdraw the blade safely and conveniently. The unlock button can be supported by a spring so that there is a gap between the unlock button and the top of the pressurized rod, and a torsion spring mounted around the button rotation axis can be used. Similarly, a part of the rear of the unlock button can be supported by the torsion spring, and another part of the rear of the unlock button can be supported by the top of the pressurized rod. By arranging the torsion spring and the top of the pressurized rod in parallel along the button rotation axis, the space inside the housing can be optimized. The pressurized rod can be mounted on the button rotation axis, the unlock button can be mounted on the outside of the pressurized rod, and the reel fixing button can be mounted on the outside of the unlock button, and the reel fixing button can rotate along the outer surface of the lock rotation button.

[0008] [Effect of the Invention] The compact tape measure having a dual brake of the present invention can compensate for the self-locking function that weakens over time, reduce the number of parts, and pursue miniaturization of the tape measure by having a manual brake directly or indirectly brake the outermost rim of the reel. The compact tape measure having a dual brake of the present invention provides a compact tape measure having a dual brake in which the self-locking function is released only when the button moves a certain depth or more by providing a play in the operation of the self-lock. Even if the release and engagement of the self-lock are repeatedly performed in the process of withdrawing the blade from the housing, if the unlock button does not continue to move up and down and remains stationary, the gap between the unlock button and the housing can be formed to be minimal or almost non-existent because the button does not move, and foreign substances can be blocked from entering through the gap. In addition, the fixing force of the reel can be further improved by forming an additional frictional resistance surface or a protrusion on the surface of the outermost rim or the fixing protrusion of the reel, and in this process, an improved braking effect can be achieved without additional treatment on the surface of the blade.

[0009] [Brief description of drawings] FIGS. 1 and 2 are drawings for explaining a conventional tape measure having a self-locking function. FIG. 3 is a drawing for explaining a compact tape measure having a dual brake according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a drawing for explaining the interior and gap of the compact tape measure having a dual brake of FIG. 3. FIGS. 5 and 6 are drawings for explaining the structure and operation of a lock release button and a reel fixing button of a compact tape measure having a dual brake. FIG. 7 is a drawing for explaining the engagement and release state of the self-lock of a compact tape measure having a dual brake according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a drawing for explaining a reel fixing and releasing process of a compact tape measure having a dual brake according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] [Mode for carrying out the invention] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings, but the present invention is not limited or restricted by the embodiments. For reference, in this description, the same numbers refer to substantially the same elements, and the contents described in other drawings may be cited and described under the above rules, and contents that are determined to be obvious to a person skilled in the art or that are repeated may be omitted. Fig. 3 is a drawing for explaining a compact tape measure having a dual brake according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 4 is a drawing for explaining the interior and gap of the compact tape measure having a dual brake of Fig. 3, and Figs. 5 and 6 are drawings for explaining the structure and operation of a lock release button and a reel fixing button of the compact tape measure having a dual brake. Referring to FIGS. 3 to 6, a tape measure (100) having a dual brake according to the present embodiment may basically include a housing (110), a reel (120) rotatably mounted inside the housing (110), a blade (130) pulled out through an inlet of the housing (110), and an end hook (140) mounted at an end of the blade (130). In particular, the tape measure (100) according to the present embodiment may include a wedge portion (160) that enters between the portion of the blade (130) wound around the reel (120) and the portion drawn out through the inlet and comes into close contact with the blade (130), a pressure rod (170) to which the wedge portion (160) is connected at one end, a lock release button (150) that temporarily separates the wedge portion (160) from the blade (130) by interlocking with the upper end (172) of the pressure rod (170), and a reel fixing button (180) for selectively fixing the reel (120). The pressure rod (170), the lock release button (150), and the reel fixing button (180) may rotate around one button rotation axis (Bx), may be mounted on the button rotation axis (Bx), and may perform their own independent functions, or in some cases, may perform functions that are interlocked with each other.For example, while the blade (130) is withdrawn out of the housing (110), the pressurized rod (170) can perform an independent function, but when the unlock button (150) is pressed and moves and the top (172) of the pressurized rod (170) is pressed, the pressurized rod (170) can be forcibly separated from the blade (130). In addition, the reel lock button (180) can perform an independent function of manually locking the rotation of the reel (120) by using the locking projection (182), but when the unlock button (150) is pressed and the rising projection (152) raises the bottom of the reel locking button (180), the locking projection (182) of the reel locking button (180) can be forcibly separated from the outermost rim of the reel (120). Specifically, the pressure rod (170) is rotatably mounted on the button rotation axis (Bx), and a wedge portion (160) is mounted at the lower end. A plate spring (174) may be mounted between the pressure rod (170) and the housing (110), and the pressure rod (170) may be elastically supported in a direction in which it is in close contact with the blade (130). The upper end (172) of the pressure rod (170), which is opposite from the lower end to which the wedge portion (160) is connected, is located at the rear side of the unlock button (150) and is spaced apart from the rear side of the unlock button (150) by a certain distance. As shown in FIG. 6, since the rear side of the unlock button (150) is always supported by the torsion spring (154), the unlock button (150) can maintain a certain distance from the upper end (172) of the pressure rod (170) and can be maintained in close contact with the housing (110) as much as possible without a gap. The unlock button (150) can have a left part of the rear side supported by the torsion spring (154), and a right part of the rear side of the unlock button (150) can be supported by the upper end (172) of the pressure rod (170).Since the torsion spring (154) and the upper end (172) of the pressure rod (170) are arranged parallel to each other without overlapping along the button rotation axis (Bx), space usage can be minimized. As shown in the enlarged portion of FIG. 4, the unlock button (150) tends to remain in close contact with the housing (110), and the gap (g) between the housing (110) and the unlock button (150) can always be kept to a minimum. Since the unlock button (150) and the pressure rod (170) are separated, even when the blade (130) is pulled out, only the pressure rod (170) moves around the button rotation axis (Bx), and the unlock button (150) can remain stationary, and the gap (g) is also kept to a minimum, so that the inflow of foreign substances can be prevented. The unlock button (150) may be mounted on the button rotation shaft (Bx) so as to face the upper end (172) of the pressurized rod (170). The unlock button (150) may be elastically supported by a torsion spring (154) or other springs, and may include a rising projection (152) protruding forward at the lower end. A reel fixing button (180) may be mounted on the button rotation shaft (Bx) so as to partially surround the unlocking button (150) between the button body of the unlocking button (150) and the rising projection (152). The button body of the reel fixing button (180) may be positioned forward and exposed to the outside of the housing (110), and fixing projections (182) may be formed at both ends opposite to the button body. The retaining projection (182) of the reel retaining button (180) can access the outermost rim of the inner reel (120), and when the reel retaining button (180) rotates and the retaining projection (182) presses against the rim of the reel (120), the rotation of the reel (120) can be restricted.As shown in (c) of FIG. 5, a pressure rod (170) is mounted with the button rotation axis (Bx) as the center, an unlock button (150) is mounted on the outside of the pressure rod (170) to cover the upper portion (172) of the pressure rod (170), and a reel fixing button (180) can be mounted between the button body and the rising protrusion (152) on the outside of the unlocking button (150). The reel fixing button (180) can rotate between the button body and the rising protrusion (152) along the outer surface of the unlocking button (150), and fixing protrusions (182) are formed at each of the inner ends of the reel fixing button (180) so as to be in contact with the outermost rim of the reel (120). Referring to FIG. 3, the button bodies of the unlock button (150) and the reel fixing button (180) are exposed together at the front upper portion of the housing (110). The user can simply pull out the blade (130) to stop it in the pulled-out position, and press the unlock button (150) to separate the internal wedge (160) from the blade (130) in order to recover all or part of the blade (130). In addition, in order to more firmly fix the pulled-out state of the blade (130), the user can more firmly restrict the rotation of the reel (120) by pressing down the reel fixing button (180). The button bodies of the unlock button (150) and the reel fixing button (180) for these operations are gathered at the front upper portion of the housing (110), so that the user can easily perform the desired operation or function. FIG. 7 is a drawing for explaining the engagement and release state of the self-lock of a compact tape measure having a dual brake according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a drawing for explaining the reel fixing and release process of a compact tape measure having a dual brake according to an embodiment of the present invention.Referring to (a) of FIG. 7, when the blade (130) is withdrawn or in the process of being withdrawn, the pressure rod (170) is supported by the plate spring (174), and the wedge portion (160) is connected to the lower end of the pressure rod (170) so that it can enter between the blades (130) and be pressed against each other. The rotation of the reel (120) and the blade (130) can be restricted by the wedge portion (160). In addition, even in the process of withdrawing the blade (130), only the wedge portion (160) and the pressure rod (170) can move left and right to perform a self-locking function, and the lock release button (150) can be separated from the upper end (172) of the pressure rod (170) and maintained in a stopped state. The fixing projection (182) of the reel fixing button (180) may also be separated from the rim of the reel (120) so as not to restrict the rotation of the reel (120). Referring to (b) of FIG. 7, when the user presses the unlocking button (150) to a certain depth (d) or more to press the upper portion (172) of the pressure rod (170), the lower portion and the wedge portion (160) of the pressure rod (170) are separated from the blade (130), so that the blade (130) can be recovered along with the rotation of the reel (120). If the unlocking button (150) is pressed less than the certain depth (d), the self-locking function can be maintained because the upper portion (172) of the pressure rod (170) is not pressed. That is, by intentionally separating the upper portion of the unlock button (150) and the pressure rod (170), the self-lock can be prevented from being released even if there is a small, unintentional pressing or slight shaking of the unlock button (150). When the pressing force on the unlock button (150) is removed, the unlock button (150) returns to its original position by the torsion spring (154), and the unlock button (150) can be maintained in a stopped state separated from the upper portion (172) of the pressure rod (170) by a certain distance.Referring to (c) of FIG. 8, the state in which the reel fixing button (180) is pressed down and the fixing protrusion (182) presses the rim of the reel (120) is illustrated. This may be a state in which the user presses down the reel fixing button (180) in the state of (a) of FIG. 7. Basically, in a state in which the self-locking function is implemented by the wedge (160) and the pressure rod (170), the fixed ruler can be maintained more stably by additionally supplementing the fixing by the reel fixing button (180). The downward movement range of the reel fixing button (180) can be limited by the rising protrusion (152) of the unlocking button (150), and the reel fixing button (180) can naturally move to an angle at which the fixing protrusion (182) presses the rim of the reel (120) to the maximum while moving to the boundary limited by the rising protrusion (152). Referring to (d) of FIG. 8, the user can press the unlock button (150) to simultaneously press the top (172) of the pressure rod (170), and the rising projection (152) can lift the reel fixing button (180). Before the unlocking button (150) is pressed beyond a certain depth, the fixing projection (182) of the reel fixing button (180) is separated from the rim of the reel (120), and when the pressing motion is performed beyond a certain depth, the fixing projection (182) is completely separated from the reel (120), and the top (172) of the pressure rod (170) can be pressed against the unlocking button (150). That is, even when the lock by the reel fixing button (180) is maintained, the lock by the reel fixing button (180) and the self-lock by the wedge (160) can be simultaneously released with one pressing motion of the unlocking button (150). In this embodiment, the pressurized rod (170), the unlock button (150) and the reel fixing button (180) are fixed to one button rotation axis (Bx), thereby minimizing the installation space and providing the lowest fixing effect with the lowest force by directly fixing or releasing the reel (120).In addition, by forming an additional frictional resistance surface or forming a protrusion on the surface of the rim or the fixed protrusion (182) of the reel (120), the fixing force of the reel can be further improved, and in this process, an improved effect can be achieved without additional treatment on the surface of the blade. As described above, although the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be variously modified and changed within the scope and spirit of the present invention as set forth in the claims below.

Claims

【Scope of Claims】 【 Claim 11. A spool having a housing, a reel rotatably mounted inside the housing, and a blade drawn through an inlet of the housing, the spool comprising: a wedge portion in close contact with the blade wound around the reel; a pressing rod having one end connected to the wedge portion and rotating about a button rotation axis formed in the housing to press the wedge portion in a direction to be in close contact with the blade; a release button rotating about the button rotation axis and interlocking with the pressing rod to temporarily separate the wedge portion from the blade; and a reel fixing button rotating about the button rotation axis and pressing the reel to engage or disengage the rotation of the reel. The release button and the reel fixing button are exposed to the outside of the housing. 【 Claim 2. The spool according to claim 1, wherein the reel fixing button is exposed from the housing below the front of the release button. 【 Claim 3. The spool according to claim 1, wherein the reel fixing button includes a fixing protrusion protruding toward an outermost rim of the reel. 【 Claim 4. The spool according to claim 3, wherein the release button includes a rising protrusion supporting a lower end of the reel fixing button at a position where the fixing protrusion engages with the outermost rim. The rising protrusion limits a range in which the reel fixing button moves downward, and when the release button is lifted and the rising protrusion is lifted, the reel fixing button also moves together with the release button so that the fixing protrusion is also separated from the outermost rim. 【 Claim 5. The spool according to claim 1, wherein the pressing rod and the release button are separated and move independently. 【

6. In claim 5, the unlock button remains stationary during the process of withdrawing the blade, and the gap between the unlock button and the housing is also constant. 【

7. In claim 5, the upper end of the pressurizing rod, which is located above the button rotation axis, is located inside the unlocking button, and a gap exists between the unlocking button and the upper end of the pressurizing rod, so that the locking button must be pressed to a certain depth or more to release the pressurizing rod. A ruler characterized by being in contact with the upper part. 【

8. A tape measure according to claim 7, characterized in that the lock release button is supported by a spring, wherein there is a gap between the lock release button and the upper end of the pressurized rod. 【A tape measure according to claim 8, wherein the unlock button is supported by a torsion spring with respect to the button rotation axis, and the torsion spring and the upper end of the pressure rod are arranged in parallel along the button rotation axis inside the unlock button.

10. A tape measure according to claim 1, characterized in that the pressurizing rod is mounted on the button rotation shaft, the lock release button is mounted on the outside of the pressurizing rod, and the reel fixing button is mounted on the outside of the lock release button. 16

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