Found a pretty cool tool today.
- Thread starter navyeoseabee
- Start date
Hmm, both sea & mm marks ? LOL
just a little typo...
just a little typo...
OP
navyeoseabee
Well-known member
I know that is one thing i caught on quick too... lol.. i bet it was a auto spell checker... pretty cool idea though a tape measure where you can measure from one wall to the other with out bending the tape to read it.
- once i went to cut carpet in a room of the house we no longer own anymore. When it was cut, and laid in place i was 1/4 inch short on one wall. My friend said to rent a carpet kicker.. after 10 minutes my knee was hurting... (old injury) i ended up paying a craigslist guy to come and lay the rest of the rooms carpet. ...but this would have been nice to have for that job!
- once i went to cut carpet in a room of the house we no longer own anymore. When it was cut, and laid in place i was 1/4 inch short on one wall. My friend said to rent a carpet kicker.. after 10 minutes my knee was hurting... (old injury) i ended up paying a craigslist guy to come and lay the rest of the rooms carpet. ...but this would have been nice to have for that job!
OP
navyeoseabee
Well-known member
After telling the guy that designed these about the website he told me today that he was band from the site after signing up. i didn't catch his user name but i think he sent a message to the moderator asking why.
pretty cool tool.
pretty cool tool.
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I know that is one thing i caught on quick too... lol.. i bet it was a auto spell checker... pretty cool idea though a tape measure where you can measure from one wall to the other with out bending the tape to read it.
- once i went to cut carpet in a room of the house we no longer own anymore. When it was cut, and laid in place i was 1/4 inch short on one wall. My friend said to rent a carpet kicker.. after 10 minutes my knee was hurting... (old injury) i ended up paying a craigslist guy to come and lay the rest of the rooms carpet. ...but this would have been nice to have for that job!
pro-tip.
look at the bottom or side of a tape measure, they tell you how much to add for a measurement. stanley 12' tape is 2" added from the mark on the line. purdy simple trick to measure without bending a tap (even harbor freight tapes have it..... under the rubber skin, and its in mm.. lol)
spike99250
Well-known member
Good luck to the guy, but most tradesman just see a gimmicky product in that tape measure. You can bend a tape and get pretty accurate measurements.
If it has to be really precise, make a mark out a couple of inches, lets say five, and then measure to that mark.
If it has to be really precise, make a mark out a couple of inches, lets say five, and then measure to that mark.
logical
Well-known member
Every tape I've ever owned has that. Admittedly, sometimes its an odd number like 3 1/4 " and makes my hair hurt but it works. I'm also not sure that odd shape wouldn't get old quick... and would not fit in most belt holsters.
It would be nice to have the SEA numbers when I'm shipbuilding but I haven't really been into that since... never.
Agreed. I thought everyone knew that all decent tape measures come marked with the appropriate "body length" correction for inside measurements.
I do like the idea of the clear window and cursor line though. I definitely think this would make inside measurements a bit more accurate than with a conventional tape.
As for the little steel part protruding out the back end, this I'm not so crazy about. All that is really needed there is a nice flat square back end on the body (and of course a design that makes sure that if a lanyard is fitted that it doesn't interfere).
Zeke
Well-known member
^^^ Agreed that the rear extension should be movable to inside the body when not in use. If I were the inventor I would have used the 2nd scale for the inside measurement with the body dimension already added. Or since it has a window with a line, a center scale.
I've been using dual scale tapes for years. When you have to divide a length into equal parts, MM works much faster than fractions.
I've been using dual scale tapes for years. When you have to divide a length into equal parts, MM works much faster than fractions.
Steinmetz
Well-known member
The packaging only shows a patent application serial number. The application for this device has not been granted a patent. Therefore, you did not meet the patent holder.
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Steinmetz
Well-known member
Looking at the claims in this application, the Applicant didn't get much for his money with the person he retained. Good luck with this one…
BTW, the individual that counseled the Applicant to put the application serial number on the product really did the client a disservice. Applicant should have used "Patent Pending" to keep the world somewhat unsure of the features he desired to claim.
BTW, the individual that counseled the Applicant to put the application serial number on the product really did the client a disservice. Applicant should have used "Patent Pending" to keep the world somewhat unsure of the features he desired to claim.
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Steinmetz
Well-known member
"...Nothing new here…".
The USPTO is, at the present time, in agreement with you.
The USPTO is, at the present time, in agreement with you.
Steinmetz
Well-known member
Those self-dividing scales (I own a Lufkin) are very handy.
Steinmetz
Well-known member
SAE ("Society of Automotive Engineers") is not proper terminology for a foot-pound-second (FPS) measurement system such as we presently use. Most of the wrenching heads here use this terminology when referring to wrenching devices that use inches and fractions thereof, because the SAE propagated a standard for those devices. You are correct in asserting that it does not refer to the fps system in general.
When I worked in engineering, we used SI (a meter-kilogram-second system). When I worked in the high energy gas laser field we used the cgs system (centimeter-gram second system) since I worked directly with a bunch of physicists.
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Steinmetz
Well-known member
"...Don't start with the 'we are going to billionaires! ********…"
The patent system really does not favor the small inventor.
It's really geared for the big corporate interests. The small inventor is in a woefully poor position in most cases.
The patent system really does not favor the small inventor.
It's really geared for the big corporate interests. The small inventor is in a woefully poor position in most cases.
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meh, When I need am accurate measure of an inside diameter I just measure 1' from the first side and make a precise mark. Flip the tape, and measure from the other side to that mark then add 1'.
I don't see the need to buy a gimmicky tape measure.
I don't see the need to buy a gimmicky tape measure.
I have an el cheapo measure in my car, and it says 3/4" on the bottom when clearly the body of it is more like 2.5 inches.
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Steinmetz
Well-known member
I have an el cheapo measure in my car, and it says 3/4" on the bottom when clearly the body but the body of it is more like 2.5 inches.
I've often wondered how accurate these "el cheapo" tapes actually are.
Zeke
Well-known member
The scale you are referring to, the small black diamonds, or triangles (diamonds are more commonly found), on the top scale of the tape measure starting at 19.2 inches are for truss layouts for 8-foot sheet goods. Saves one truss in every 8 feet. At 8' a new layout starts and lands again at 8'. You could do wall framing layout this way too in lieu of 24" OC. But you couldn't run vertical ply goods like T1-11.
I really appreciate the content you provide 99% of the time, but holy **** are you a buzz-kill sometimes.
Same for you.
Just an observation.... please don't stop
4xdog
Well-known member
Haven't there been for years multiple other approaches to this task. That's aside from the trivially simple and universal add "X inches/mm" or premeasure a set-off distance approaches, of course. ISTR a gimmick where the inside measurement was directly read from a window on the top of the tape?
This just doesn't seem to be that useful. Cash down the drain for a patent application, I'd say. Ya gotta love the enthusiasm, if not the end product.
This just doesn't seem to be that useful. Cash down the drain for a patent application, I'd say. Ya gotta love the enthusiasm, if not the end product.
Quality of practitioners is a problem. Ignorance of prior art is rampant, but even worse is "win or lose, we win" behavior.
The ignorance in the patent office, among examiners, is another topic altogether.
Like anything where litigation is possible. Like anything where big money is on the line. AIA, specifically IPR was supposed to improve quality and avoid litigation, but of course folks with "innovative business methods" are already using it to other ends.
Wait, wasn't this thread about a cool new tape measure?
Zeke
Well-known member
I think the door was opened to talk about patents and even the patent process be it good or not so good. I'm a fan of copyrights and trademarks because they are quick and cheap to be had. In the case of the tape measure, with CR and TM in place, another could copy the design but not the name or any aspect of the packaging including labels, instructions and even colors in their proportions on the tool or display pack.
I find that 173" divides as easily as 173cm.
mv213
Well-known member
The window idea for inside measurements has been around for decades. My stepdad had a Stanley tape with inside measurement window back in the early 1970's.
The trouble with them is the tape inside the case is a little loose (it's a loosely coiled strip of metal) so there is a little slop in the inside measurement. If an exact measurement is needed, it's not good enough. For better results, you can use the "add the tape body to the measurement" method, or as somebody else suggested, measure to a mark a known distance from the wall.
The trouble with them is the tape inside the case is a little loose (it's a loosely coiled strip of metal) so there is a little slop in the inside measurement. If an exact measurement is needed, it's not good enough. For better results, you can use the "add the tape body to the measurement" method, or as somebody else suggested, measure to a mark a known distance from the wall.
Steinmetz
Well-known member
"...The ignorance in the patent office, among examiners, is another topic altogether…".
I wouldn't characterize it as ignorance, but…
In case you hadn't noticed, the pay at the USPTO is very penurious.
I wouldn't characterize it as ignorance, but…
In case you hadn't noticed, the pay at the USPTO is very penurious.
Steinmetz
Well-known member
I remember when the reexamination statute was created. It was also supposed to stem patent litigation (heh.). Any competent litigator will generally advise you never to have a reexamination done though, even though it's understood that the outcome is not binding on the proceedings.
That said, I've always had good luck with reexaminations, and I've been on both sides. And they are enormously cheap when compared to litigation. And they always helped the client.
Dimoncenzo
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2015
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- 64
I saw the original post. It was so obviously spam, I reported it. 5 minutes later, the post and "the guy" were both gone, so I guess the mods agreed.
You can't just join up a site like this and start posting ads where they don't belong. If that was allowed, the site would be useless.
I won't even comment on the tool, others have done that admirably.
neophyte
Well-known member
I looked up the tape measures, they're $9.99 each plus shipping, and available in five different colors.
There are plenty of tape measures that cost more.
I doubt he'll make a million dollars from them, but there are worse hobbies, and the case looks like the ergonomics might be OK.
If you sharpen up the ruler on the back side it can probably be use for scoring drywall, or as a marking knife, which might be handy.
There are plenty of tape measures that cost more.
I doubt he'll make a million dollars from them, but there are worse hobbies, and the case looks like the ergonomics might be OK.
If you sharpen up the ruler on the back side it can probably be use for scoring drywall, or as a marking knife, which might be handy.
Zeke
Well-known member
Oh yeah? How do you mark 34.6 in inches? (/5) Or 24.14285? (/7)
Sal Bandini
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2012
- Messages
- 994
How do you mark 173 cm/7 = 24.14285?
173/7 = 2 and 23/32.
Since you need a calculator to figure it out just use a cheap construction calculator. It will give you answer in fractions.
Zeke
Well-known member
I think you miss my point. When making several divisions as I had to do laying out the muntins in divided light windows, I wanted a system that was easy to use. Example: 173 cm / 5 would give me the spacing for 6 panes. Not considering the width of the muntin for the moment, we get the centerlines at 34.6 cm. At that point many calculators would simply add that value again and again giving the measurement of the next centerline with no fractions to be considered. Almost as easy as the marks on the tape for 16" OC.
Believe me, I did this 1000's of times and metrics were easier to work with and read on the scale. And it had to be dead nuts accurate if I wanted to set up a stop on the shaper to reverse cope all of the cross muntins to be equal and fit the net inside perimeter frame opening.
Sal Bandini
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2012
- Messages
- 994
Your point was that divisions of inches weren't easily marked. You said nothing about arithmetic progression.
If you need to do that then yes maybe use metric. Better yet would be to create a story stick for repetitive measurements. It reduces error.
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I stand by it, they often don't know much at all. Product of their narrow recent education, lack of industry exposure. Doesn't help that they are given literally minutes for the prior art search.
In my field, their pay is over what industry offers advanced degrees with some years of post-grad experience. Woeful field.
Sounds like the client 1) was on the right side, and 2) had good help.