A stepwise adjustable square for use in carpentry, including: a stock; and a blade rotatable relative to the stock around an axis of rotation between a first extreme position at zero degrees, where the blade is parallel to the stock and partly provided in a space of the stock, and a second extreme position at about 270 degrees, where the blade is substantially perpendicular to the stock.

A wheeled distance measuring device has a longitudinal pole, a housing, a wheel, a gear coupling mechanism, and a transmission assembly. The housing is attached to the longitudinal pole and has a fork. The counter is mounted in the housing and has a spindle and a gear mounted on the spindle. The wheel is mounted rotatably on the fork and has an axle and a spur gear mounted on the axle. The gear coupling mechanism is mounted on the fork and has a stem, an upper spur gear, and a lower spur gear engaged with the spur gear on the axle of the wheel. The transmission assembly is mounted on the housing and has multiple gear elements. One of the gear elements is engaged with the gear on the spindle, and another one of the gear elements is engaged with the upper spur gear.

A measurement device that allows all users to conveniently and discreetly determine appropriate general footwear measurements at any age is disclosed. The device may include a housing having a contact edge configured to receive the heel or a first side edge of the user's foot, a retractable tape configured to extend outwardly from the housing, and a toe flange proximate the distal end of the retractable tape that is configured to receive the toe or a second side edge of the user's foot. The retractable tape may have indicia of barleycorn units of measurement that can be easily be used to determine footwear sizes (length and width) in English speaking countries.

A method and apparatus for measuring a subject's ability to perform a varying range of barrier reaches is provided. The apparatus includes a barrier having a substantially horizontal upper surface at a height above a base point. A sensing and recording device is positioned adjacent to the barrier for sensing and recording a plurality of data points. A marking device for grasping by the subject engages the sensing and recording device for creating the plurality of data points as the subject bends forward against the barrier. The data points are recorded and converted into an interpolated arc reflecting the subject's reach at the barrier height.

A hardboard installation support apparatus for mounting hardboard for board and batten siding installations includes a support bracket having a bracket front side, a bracket back side, a bracket top edge, a bracket bottom edge, a bracket left edge, and a bracket right edge. The supper bracket has a pair of mounting apertures extending from the bracket front side through the bracket back side. The pair of mounting apertures receives hardware to engage a building. A measurement indicator is coupled to the bracket front side and indicates a vertical distance from the bracket bottom edge. A support lip is coupled to the support bracket. The support lip is coupled to the bracket bottom edge and extends away from the bracket front side. The support lip and the bracket front side form an angle between 90° and 100°.

An inspection and measurement device includes a body defining a first planar face within a first bounded area, a first reference feature disposed on the first planar face within the first bounded area and corresponding with a first measurable parameter for structural inspection, and a second reference feature disposed on the first planar face within the first bounded area and corresponding with a second measurable parameter for structural inspection. The first and second reference features are positioned within the first bounded area for placement adjacent an element bearing the respective one of the first and second measurable parameters, and the first and second reference features overlap within the first bounded area in at least one direction.

A measurement device includes first and second measurement indicia. First indicia (e.g., on the tape) may include numerals regularly spaced to mark inches or other units of length (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc,). Also included are second indicia, that are non-numeric (e.g., letters, such as A, B, C, etc.) where the second indicia are regularly spaced to mark fractions of inches or other units of length indicated by the first indicia. The second indicia are positioned between adjacent first indicia. For example, the letters (A, B, C, etc.) may he spaced every sixteenth or other fraction of an inch between the “1” and “2” (adjacent first indicia). Where sixteenths are used, the letters A-O are equally spaced, between the adjacent first indicia (e.g., between the “1”P′ and the “2”). The A-O may repeat between each integral number—between “1” and “2”, between “2” and “3” and so forth.

A tape measure marking system includes indicia along the length of a measuring tape positioned at regular distance intervals along the length of the measuring tape, with the indicia located at some regular repeating intervals along the tape being visually discernible relative to indicia at other regular repeating intervals along the tape to allow for easier visual identification of thicker intervals with respect to the other indicia.

A tile square includes a right isosceles triangular substantially rigid transparent sheet with ruler indicia adjacent to the hypotenuse and one of the equal sides. A fence is provided along the other equal side. A plurality of templates are formed in the sheet between the sides and hypotenuse. The templates include a plurality of holes for a range of pipe sizes and a series of arcs defining peripheral boundaries of a closet or toilet flange. The equal sides of the tool are at least 18 inches in length.

An inductive type position encoder includes a scale, a detector portion and a signal processor. The scale includes a periodic pattern of signal modulating elements (SME) arranged along a measuring axis with a spatial wavelength W1. The SME in the pattern comprise similar conductive plates or loops. The detector portion comprises sensing elements and a field generating coil that generates a changing magnetic flux. The sensing elements may comprise conductive loop portions arranged along the measuring axis and configured to provide detector signals which respond to a local effect on the changing magnetic flux provided by adjacent SME's. In various implementations, SMEs having an average dimension DSME along the measuring axis direction that is at least 0.55*W1 and at most 0.8*W1 are combined with sensing elements having an average dimension along the measuring axis direction that is at least 0.285*W1 and at most 0.315*W1, which improves detector signal accuracy.