Multi-scale position locator and method for locating a position

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention pertains generally to measuring devices and more particularly to a multi-scale position locator and a method for locating a position such as a proper badge placement on a uniform.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Referring to

FIG. 1

, many organizations require their uniform-wearing members to position items on their uniforms according to organizational guidelines. For example, the army requires a soldier

10

wearing a uniform

12

to center his nameplate

14

on a flap

16

of a right pocket

18

between pocket sides

20

and

22

, the top of a pocket button

24

, and a pocket top

26

. The army also requires the soldier

10

to center his unit award

28

over the pocket

18

such that the bottom of the award is ⅛ inch above the pocket top

26

. Because he often removes items like the nameplate

14

and the unit award

28

before laundering his uniform

12

, the soldier

10

positions and reattaches such items on a regular basis.

Because these guidelines often require precise positioning of such items, one typically uses a conventional measurement device such as a ruler to accurately locate the specified item positions on the uniform.

FIGS. 2 and 3

describe a technique for placing the award

28

above the pocket

18

of the uniform

12

(all of

FIG. 1

) using a conventional ruler

30

. For clarity, the pocket flap

16

and the button

24

are omitted from

FIGS. 2 and 3

.

Referring to

FIG. 2

, to locate the specified position of the unit award

28

(

FIG. 1

) using the ruler

30

, one first determines the horizontal midline

32

of the pocket

18

by aligning ruler marks with the pocket sides

20

and

22

, calculating the distance between the sides

20

and

22

, halving this distance, and marking the halfway point. In the illustrated example, one aligns the 4-inch and 7-inch marks with the sides

20

and

22

, respectively, determines that the pocket

18

is 3 inches wide, halves this width to obtain 1½ inches, and marks the midline

32

, which is 1½ inches from either side

20

or

22

and is perpendicular to the pocket top

26

. To avoid ruining the uniform and to save time, one typically does not use a marking device such as a pencil to mark the midline

32

. Instead, one often uses a relatively inaccurate technique such as eyeballing or temporarily marking with a finger.

Next, referring to

FIG. 3

, one rotates the ruler

30

ninety degrees, aligns the measuring edge of the ruler

30

with the pocket midline

32

, aligns a measurement mark with the pocket top

26

, measures the specified distance above the top

26

, and marks a position

34

for the bottom edge of the award

28

. In the illustrated example, one aligns the 8-inch mark with the pocket top

26

, measures up ⅛ inch, and marks the position

34

.

Still referring to

FIGS. 2 and 3

, one positions the award

28

(

FIG. 1

) by horizontally centering the award

28

about the midline

32

and aligning the award's bottom edge with the position

34

such that the bottom edge is parallel to the pocket top

26

. Although one can use the ruler

30

to locate the horizontal midline of the award

28

and to insure that the award's bottom edge is parallel to the pocket top

26

, he/she typically eyeballs these measurements.

Unfortunately, the ruler

30

and other like measurement devices are often cumbersome, inaccurate, and time consuming when used for two-dimensional positioning of an item on a back piece such as the uniform

12

(FIG.

1

). For example, referring to the item-placement procedure discussed above in conjunction with

FIGS. 2 and 3

, eyeballing or using a finger to temporarily mark the midline

32

while rotating the ruler

30

into the second position (

FIG. 3

) is difficult even with good coordination and steady hands, and can be next to impossible for someone without these attributes. Furthermore, eyeballing and finger marking often cause noticeable alignment errors. Although one can go back and correct such errors, such re-positioning can add a significant amount of time to the positioning process, particularly when one must position and attach a large number of items.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, a device includes first and second scales. The first scale has a reference mark, at least one first mark disposed a first distance from the reference mark in a first direction, and at least one second mark disposed the first distance from the reference mark in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction. The second scale is perpendicular to the first scale and includes at least one third mark disposed a second distance from the first scale.

One can use such a device to position items on a uniform or other back piece without the guesswork associated with conventional measuring devices. For example, he/she can use the first scale as a centering scale to locate a pocket midline, and then, without having to move the device, can use the second scale as a measuring scale to locate a point along the pocket midline. Therefore, using such a device, one can place an item such as a badge above the pocket more easily, accurately, and quickly than if he/she used a conventional measuring device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1

is a front view of a soldier wearing a military uniform having several items attached thereto.

FIG. 2

illustrates a conventional procedure for locating the horizontal midline of a pocket of the uniform of FIG.

1

.

FIG. 3

illustrates a conventional procedure for locating a specified position for an item with respect to the pocket's horizontal midline.

FIG. 4

is a side plan view of a multi-scale device according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5

illustrates a procedure for locating a specified position for an item according in an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 4

is a side plan view of a multi-scale measuring device

40

according to an embodiment of the invention. The device

40

includes a member

42

having an edge

43

, at least one centering scale

44

disposed on the member

42

along the edge

43

, and at least one measuring scale

46

disposed on the member

42

and perpendicular to the scale

44

. In one embodiment, the member

42

is formed from a transparent material such as plastic, although it may be formed from other transparent or opaque materials. The centering scale

44

includes a centering mark

50

, which is used to indicate the center of a region in a dimension parallel to the scale

44

. Although the centering mark

50

is shown in the absolute center of the scale

44

, it can be offset from the absolute center. The scale

44

also includes alignment marks

52

, which are labeled according to their respective distances from the centering mark

50

. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, alignment marks

52

a

and

52

b

are each labeled with a respective “1” to indicate that they are each 1 inch, and thus equidistant, from the centering mark

50

. The measuring scale

46

includes alignment marks

56

, which are labeled according to their respective distances from the edge

43

. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the mark

56

a

is labeled with a “⅞” to indicate that it is ⅞ inch from the edge

43

.

FIG. 5

illustrates a procedure for using the device

40

(

FIG. 4

) to properly position an item such as the award

28

on a back piece such as the uniform

12

. For example purposes,

FIG. 5

specifically illustrates using the device

40

to center the unit award

28

⅛ inch above the pocket

18

of the uniform

12

.

First, one finds the horizontal midline

32

(i.e., the line which divides the pocket

18

in half horizontally) of the pocket

18

by finding the pair of equidistant alignment marks

52

c

and

52

d

that respectively line up with the pocket sides

20

and

22

. If there is no equidistant pair of marks

52

that align with the pocket sides

20

and

22

, then one merely interpolates by aligning each of the sides

20

and

22

the same distance from the closest respective mark

52

.

Next, one finds the center point of the award

28

bottom by aligning the ⅛″ mark

56

b

with the pocket top

26

such that the device edge

43

is ⅛″ above and parallel to the top

26

. The centering mark

50

now points to the center point of the award

28

bottom.

Then, one places the bottom of the award

28

against the edge

43

and aligns sides

58

and

60

of the award

28

with equidistant alignment marks

52

e

and

52

f

, respectively. This centers the award

28

about the centering mark

50

, and thus about the pocket midline

32

. Next, one secures the award

28

to the uniform

12

in a conventional manner.

Although

FIG. 5

illustrates the positioning of the award

28

on the uniform

12

, one can use the device

40

to position other items on other back pieces in a similar manner. Therefore, one can use the device

40

to position an item in two dimensions without calculating positions such as the horizontal mid line and without rotating the device

40

from one dimension to the other during the positioning procedure. Thus, positioning an item with the device

40

is often less cumbersome, less complex, less time consuming, and more accurate than positioning the same item with a conventional measuring device.

Referring again to

FIG. 4

, the illustrated embodiment of the device

40

is discussed in more detail. Other embodiments, however, lack some or all of the below-described features, and still other embodiments include additional features such as conventional-measuring-device features.

In this embodiment, the member

42

is a rectangular piece of flexible, clear plastic with overall dimensions of approximately 2 inches by 8 inches, and in addition to the straight edge

43

, includes a second straight edge

62

, which is parallel to the edge

43

, a third straight edge

64

, and a fourth semi-circular edge

66

, which is opposite the edge

64

.

The scale

44

is approximately 6″ long, and the reference marks

52

are disposed every {fraction (1/16)} inch from the centering mark

50

. A first set of reference numbers

68

labels every other mark

52

, and each number indicates the distance of the respective mark from the centering mark

50

in ⅛-inch intervals offset by {fraction (1/16)} inch. For example, the number “6”, which labels the mark

52

e

, indicates a distance of {fraction (6/8)} inch+{fraction (1/16)} inch={fraction (13/16)} inch from the centering mark

50

. Therefore, starting at the centering mark

50

, the numbers

68

increase in both directions along the scale

44

. Similarly, a second set of reference numbers

70

labels every eighth mark

52

, and each number indicates the distance of the respective mark from the centering mark

50

in 1-inch intervals. A third set of numbers

72

also labels every eighth mark

52

, but each number

72

indicates the distance of the respective mark from the end of the scale

44

nearest the edge

64

.

Another centering scale

73

runs along the edge

62

, is 14 centimeters (cm) long, and includes a centering mark

74

and alignment marks

76

, which are disposed on the member

42

every 1 millimeter (mm) from the centering mark

74

. A first set of reference numbers

78

labels every fifth mark

76

, and each number indicates the distance of the respective mark from the centering mark

74

in 5 mm intervals. For example, the number “7”, which labels the mark

76

a

, indicates a distance of 7×5 mm=35 mm=3.5 cm. Therefore, starting at the centering mark

74

, the numbers

78

increase in both directions along the scale

73

. A second set of numbers

80

labels every tenth mark

76

, and each number

80

indicates the distance of the respective mark in centimeters from the end of the scale

73

nearest the semi-circular edge

66

.

A grid

82

is disposed in a middle portion of the member

42

, and includes vertical grid lines

84

and horizontal grid lines

86

. The vertical grid lines

84

are extensions of every other mark

52

of the centering scale

44

, and the horizontal grid lines

86

are extensions of the marks

56

in the measuring scale

46

.

An angular scale

88

is disposed along the edge

66

to form a protractor

90

.

A U-shaped pocketbook clip

92

is disposed within the protractor

90

.

Cut outs

94

and

96

, which are shaped as isosceles and 30-60-90 triangles, respectively, and cut outs

98

, which are shaped as circles, are disposed in the member

42

.

Binder holes

100

, which allow the device

40

to be stored in a loose-leaf notebook (not shown), are also disposed in the member

42

.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention.