Tape measure

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR MEASURING A LINEAR DIMENSION COMPRISING A HOUSING DEFINING AN ENCLOSED CHAMBER THEREIN AND HAVING A STRAIGHT EXTERIOR SIDE AND A SLOT APERTURE FROM THE CHAMBER TO THE SIDE AT ONE END THEREOF, AN ELONGATED STRIP SUBSTANTIALLY INELASTIC IN THE DIRECTION OF ITS ELONGATE EXTENT AND RESILIENTLY FLEXIBLE IN THE DIRECTION OF ITS THICKNESS, THE STRIP PASSING THROUGH THE SLOT APERTURE SO THAT ONE END OF THE STRIP IS DISPOSED IN THE CHAMBER AND THE OTHER END IS DISPOSED EXTERIORLY OF THE HOUSING, ONE SIDE OF THE STRIP CARRYING A SCALE CALIBRATED IN SELECTED UNITS OF MEASUREMENT, THE SCALE AND HAVING ITS ORIGIN AT THE OTHER END OF THE STRIP, REELING MEANS IN THE HOUSING COUPLED TO THE ONE END OF THE STRIP OPERABLE TO COIL THE STRIP ON ITSELF WHEN THE OTHER END OF THE STRIP MOVES TOWARD THE HOUSING, AN ELONGATED NORMALLY STRAIGHT POST MEMBER SIMILAR TO SAID STRIP HAVING RESILIENT FLEXIBILITY IN THE DIRECTION OF ITS THICKNESS FOR COILING IN THE HOUSING WITH THE STRIP WHEN THE POST MEMBER IS ALIGNED AND ENGAGED WITH THE STRIP AND THE STRIP IS SUBSTANTIALLY FULLY COILED IN THE HOUSING AND HAVING SUFFICIENT LENGTH THAT IT IS COILED WITH THE STRIP IN THE HOUSING WHEN THE STRIP IS SUBSTANTIALLY FULLY COILED IN THE HOUSING, AND HINGE MEANS HINGABLY CONNECTING ONE END OF THE POST MEMBER TO THE OTHER END OF THE STRIP FOR MOVEMENT OF THE POST MEMBER INTO AND OUT OF PARALLEL ALIGNMENT AND OVERLYING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE STRIP, THE HINGE MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR LIMITING MOVEMENT OF THE POST MEMBER OUT OF ALIGNMENT WITH THE STRIP TO A POSITION IN WHICH THE POST MEMBER IS NORMAL TO THE THICKNESS OF THE STRIP.