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The present invention relates to measuring instruments, and more particularly to measuring instruments used to determine the conformance of garments to dimensional specifications.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Measuring devices for ascertaining linear dimensions are well known and include prosaic items such as rules and scales, or even markings along a table edge. Somewhat more sophisticated are those devices in the prior art that include movable elements and a scale or dial, such as vernier calipers or micrometers. The scales on such devices can be engraved, analog dials or digital readouts.
A major use of measuring devices is the process of quality control. Most manufactured goods need to be manufactured within dimensional tolerances and the art and science of quality control requires constant data collection and checking and re-checking of conformance to specification. It is cumbersome and expensive, however, to supply inspectors with precision measuring instruments in a high volume production environment. Conversely, simple "measuring sticks" are often equally insufficient since they are imprecise and slow down the manufacturing process.
In particular, in the garment industry, it is important that as clothing articles are manufactured, critical dimensions are maintained. Obviously, these dimensions relate directly to the fit and drape of the clothing article and are crucial to the overall success of the manufactured line. In general, however, mass-production of clothing articles is high volume and has relatively low profit margins, constraining the ability for quality control to be carried out in the methodical and precise manner that might be undertaken for other goods. Moreover, garments are manufactured using relatively lower skilled labor and under widely varying conditions of heat and humidity.
None of the prior art devices provides a solution to the problem of measuring garment dimensions reliably yet inexpensively and efficiently. Therefore, there remains a long-felt yet unmet need for providing improved measuring devices for use in the garment industry. It would further be desirable to provide such improvements in a manner that permitted their application across a variety of situations and that permitted their implementation in a cost-effective manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it has now been found that these and other shortcomings of the prior art can be overcome by providing a device for determining a dimension of a portion of a garment comprising a first member having a first gage end extending from the first member, and a slide end and a second member co-operatively engage with said first member comprising a second gage end that has at least one scale, and a locking device for locking the first and second members, such as a screw or wing nut passed through a pair of holes in registration. Preferably, the device further comprises a plurality of locking holes in each of the first member and the second member, and in certain embodiments the plurality of holes is in registration with said scale. In other preferred embodiments, the scale is on the first member and in certain other embodiments there can be a plurality of scales. Most preferably, there are two scales that are in inches.
In certain preferred embodiments, the first and second gage ends extend from the first and second members respectively at a substantially right angle to render each of said first and second members substantially L-shaped. Additionally, it is also preferred that the second member comprises a first layer and a second layer spaced away from the first layer, wherein the slide end passes between said first layer and said second layer.
The present invention also relates to methods of determining a dimension of a portion of a garment by providing a device having a first member having a first gage end and a second member comprising having a second gage end and at least one scale on the first member and then adjusting a distance between the first gage end and the second gage end. The adjusting is preferable carried out by sliding the members relative to one another and also preferably entails using a scale, as described above. A locking device for locking the first and second members then secures them from motion and the first and second gage ends are inserted into a garment. Most preferably, the step of securing a locking device for locking the first and second members comprises inserting a locking member into a set of holes in registration between the first and second members.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a measuring device made in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of one section of the measuring device illustrated in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of another section of the measuring device illustrated in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is an end view of the section of the device illustrated in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the section of the device illustrated in FIG. 3; and
FIG. 6 is a top plan view of an alternate arrangement for the measuring device illustrated in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The implementation of the present invention is in several preferred embodiments, discussed below, along with several illustrative examples. The embodiments of the invention described below are provided for the purpose of understanding the invention and are not meant to be limiting. |
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发表于 2008-4-10 15:45:07
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