Retractable Tape Measure With Adjustable Base For Hands-Free Use
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Solution Overview
Problem
Standard retractable tape measures are not user-friendly when trying to measure the flat top portion of an object while keeping hands free for other tasks, as there is no stable surface for the housing to sit on, making it difficult to position the measurement indicia directly above the measured edge.
Innovation Solution
A retractable tape measure with a housing that includes a retractable base with adjustable height and straight rods for stability, allowing hands-free operation by extending the tape horizontally without bending, and a drive mechanism for precise adjustment of the base's position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the tape measure housing is positioned lateral to the proximal edge of the body being measured, then the measurement indicia can be placed directly above the proximal edge for accurate measurement, but the housing cannot sit on a stable surface requiring manual support
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces a vertical dimension by extending the base downward from the housing's bottom surface. This allows the base to rest on a surface below the housing, providing stable support while maintaining the housing's lateral positioning for accurate measurement. The measurement indicia remain horizontally aligned above the proximal edge while the base extends vertically to contact the support surface.
2Ease of operation
If the base is extended to a fixed maximum distance, then hands-free operation is enabled, but the adaptability to different measurement scenarios is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs a telescoping base with multiple extendable sections that can be adjusted to various lengths. This dynamic structure allows the base to be extended or retracted depending on the measurement scenario, providing both hands-free operation capability when fully extended and adaptability to different situations through adjustable positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The base includes pre-configured telescoping sections with locking mechanisms that allow for quick adjustment to predetermined extended positions. This preliminary structuring enables the user to rapidly adapt the base length to match different measurement scenarios without complex adjustments.
Data Source
AI summary
A means that enables a retractable tape measure, of the type having a housing, to be used hands-free for measuring across the top of a body includes: (a) a base, (b) a plurality of rods, each with distal and a proximal ends, with each of the rods' proximal ends attached to the base's upper portion in a manner that extends them perpendicularly from this base, (c) a plurality of openings in the bottom surface of the housing, with each of these opening is configured to allow the rods' distal ends to pass through these opening, (d) a drive mechanism, located in this housing, that is configured to cause the rods' proximal ends to temporarily move the base either away from or towards the housing's bottom surface, and (e) a portion of this drive mechanism configured to control its operation.