CN1304811C - Measuring and instructional ruler - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a measuring and teaching appliance which comprises a basal plate and a thin plate with a transparent top, wherein the basal plate is provided with a top surface and a periphery which is limited by at least one edge; the top surface is provided with linear scales which are evenly separated; the linear scales plumb the edge, and limit non-linear standard measuring units; the thin plate with a transparent top is provided with a top surface and a periphery which is limited by at least one edge, and the top surface of the thin plate with a transparent top is provided with linear scales which are evenly separated; the linear scales plumb the long edge of the thin plate with a transparent top, and limit the fraction increment of a non-linear standard measuring unit; the transparent thin plate can be arranged on the basal plate. The fraction increment of the measuring unit is relative to the measuring unit, and consequently, the relationship between the measuring unit and the fraction increment can be showed.

Description

Measuring and Teaching Rulers

technical field

The present invention relates to a straightedge instrument for measuring distances, for measuring and drawing linear objects, for use in the teaching process of linear measurement and as a fractional increment for expressing said units of measurement and said standard units of measurement. An instrument for the relationship between quantities.

Background technique

When accompanied by an intuitive notation, the fractional increment concept of a standard unit of measurement can be represented abstractly or mathematically. The standard graduation marks on traditional rulers are not easy for children or people to understand. Young children and young adults, especially those with learning disabilities, have difficulty understanding fractional increments in units of measurement described on traditional rulers. For example, after 1/2", 1/4", 1/8" appear, because the same sign can indicate, for example, 1/2", 2/4, 4/8 and 16 of an inch Eighth, some people, especially young children, have difficulty understanding the relationship between fraction increment marks.

Also, because the fractional increment marks on a standard ruler are the same color, it is difficult for the learner to distinguish the marks. While the fractional increment marks on a standard ruler taper in length, which indicates the size of the fractional increment reduction, a colored line is not easily interpreted to the learner. For example, when presented with an inch mark, someone says that the longest line is the inch mark. Then, when the half inch mark is presented, someone says the next shorter line is the half inch mark. Next, when the quarter-inch is rendered, the problem itself begins. If the teacher says the shortest line is the quarter-inch line, learners start to get confused. At this point the term "shorter" is used for more than one set of tokens. The problem was exacerbated when teachers came up with the one-eighth and five-sixteenth inch marks.

US Patent No. 4,614,042 to Maurer discloses an educational device for children and persons with learning disabilities or physical disabilities. While the Maurer Apparatus provides a way of understanding inch fractions, this method simply shows the inch fractions as the extension of inches at a given point on the apparatus. It does not show fractional increments evenly over the entire length of the instrument. Also, at the same time, the relationship between the various fractional increments over the entire length of the appliance is not shown. Furthermore, it fails to disclose the fact that the delta marks represent multiplied fractional increments of said standard unit of measurement. Example: One-half inch marks are also two-quarter, four-eighth and eight-sixteenth inch marks. Maurer appliances, when showing fractions of an inch, do not also show fractions of 12 inches. The Maurer apparatus, when used as a teaching aid for students, was not designed to be widely used by the general public as a measuring instrument.

Contents of the invention

The above problems are alleviated when the individual fractional increment markers are colored differently, shown individually and then aligned on top of each other. The standard units of measurement and their fractional increments are easily distinguishable. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a ruler which has a functional symbolic means to aid in distinguishing between said standard units of measurement and its said fractional increments, thus being widely available to students and the general public.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a ruler implement for measuring distances and objects, and for use in drawing.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an educational tool that will facilitate teaching using a traditional ruler.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a ruler of the above properties suitable for drawing and of low cost, which can be more widely used among educators and people.

These objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the description below.

According to the present invention, measuring and teaching rulers that can achieve the above and other beneficial objects and advantages include:

a substrate having a top surface inscribed with standard units of measure; and

at least one transparent sheet having fractional increments of said standard unit of measurement engraved on its surface;

Wherein, the transparent thin plate can be placed on the substrate, and the scribed fraction increment of the standard unit of measurement should be aligned with the scribed unit of measurement mark, so as to indicate that the unit of measurement and its fraction relationship between increments.

The ruler can be used for measuring the distance between two points, measuring objects or drawing linear objects. The substrate may be used alone, or the transparent sheet may be placed on the substrate to align the fractional increments scored by the unit of measure. The ruler is then used to measure distances, draw linear graphs and measure objects to the fractional increments of the unit of measure.

The teaching ruler can be used as an educational tool to facilitate teaching using a traditional ruler. The straightedge can be used as a demonstration tool or as a measuring instrument in all situations where a measuring instrument is required, such as elementary schools, technical schools, vocational schools, prisons, adult and ability education programs or in any situation where a straightedge is required.

Description of drawings

For a full understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, in which like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout:

Fig. 1 is the top plan view of the described substrate element embodiment of ruler of the present invention;

Figures 2a-2e are top plan views of the base plate and four transparent sheets placed on the base plate such that the standard unit of measure markings are aligned with the standard unit of measure fractional increment markings.

Figure 3 is an exploded view of the ruler of the present invention in the operating mode using the elements of Figures 1, 2b, 2c, 2d and 2e.

FIG. 4 is another embodiment of the substrate shown in FIG. 1 and the transparent thin plate 2b shown in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of another alternative embodiment of the substrate in FIG. 1 and the transparent sheet 2d in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 6 is another exploded view of the straightedge of the present invention in operation using the elements described in FIG. 1 and the transparent sheet 2d in FIG. 2 .

Figure 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

Referring to Figures 1-6, the straightedge utensil of the present invention is shown to include a base plate 10 and a plurality of top sheets 11, 12, 13, 14, all of which are substantially monolithic structures, and the base plate is made of wood, cardboard, transparent or Manufactured from an opaque plastic sheet and the multiple top sheets from a transparent plastic sheet. Substrate 10 has an upper surface 15, a lower surface 16, respectively, and an elongated rectangular perimeter defined by mutually parallel straight upper and lower long edges 17 and 18, respectively, and by straight front and rear short edges 19 and 20, respectively. form. The upper surface of the substrate is provided with a digitally marked linear scale 21, the linear scale is arranged perpendicular to the upper long edge 17, and defines the subdivision area 22 of the standard unit of measurement, and the upper surface of this area has a scribed visual mark .

In the illustrated embodiment, the standard unit of measurement is inches. In other embodiments, the standard units of measurement are metric units.

In other embodiments, the lower long edge 18 of the substrate 10 may be curved in shape, including one or more circular openings.

2a-2e, the top sheet 11, 12, 13, 14 has upper and lower planes 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 respectively. The upper and lower long edges 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 and straight front and rear short edges 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 define the formation.

The upper surface 23 of the top sheet 11 is provided with thick linear scales 47 arranged perpendicular to the upper long edge 31 and defining subdivided areas 48 of 1/2" width.

The upper surface 25 of the top sheet 12 is provided with thick linear scales 49 arranged perpendicular to the upper long edge 33 and defining subdivided regions 50 of 1/4" width.

The upper surface 27 of the top sheet 13 is provided with linear scales 51 arranged perpendicular to the upper long edge 35 and defining subdivided areas 52 of 1/8" width.

The upper surface 29 of the top sheet 14 is provided with linear scales 53 arranged perpendicular to the upper long edge 37 and defining subdivided regions 54 of 1/16" width.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 2a-2e, the linear scales 21, 47, 49, 51, 53 on the upper surfaces 15, 23, 25, 27, 29 respectively define the subdivided areas 1 "(9), 1 /2" (48), 1/4" (50), 1/8" (52), 1/16" (54). In other embodiments, the linear scale can define subdivisions of decimeters, centimeters, and millimeters Zone. The linear scale can also define multiple tenths and multiple hundredths of an inch.

In another embodiment, the substrate may have a first standard unit of measure engraved on the upper surface, and the transparent sheet will have a second standard unit of measure engraved on the upper surface, indicating the difference between the first and second standard unit of measure. Relationship. This embodiment can be used to show, for example, the relationship between imperial measurements (such as inches) and metric measurements (such as decimeters). Thus, inches and fractional inches can be converted to their metric equivalent.

The additional transparent sheet can be engraved with fractional increments of the first or second unit of measure, thus representing fractional increments of the first unit of measure and the second unit of measure, or fractional increments of the second unit of measure and the first unit of measure. relationship between quantities. For example, the relationship between metric and imperial units and their corresponding fractional units may be indicated by an additional transparent sheet engraved with fractional units of inches and decimeters (ie, centimeters and millimeters).

Corresponding to the standard measurement unit and its fractional increment, the lengths of the linear marks 21 , 47 , 49 , 51 , 53 decrease successively. The linear mark 21 has the longest length. Linear marks 47 are shorter than linear marks 21 . Linear marks 49 are shorter than linear marks 47 . Linear marks 51 are shorter than marks 49 . The linear mark 53 is shorter than the linear mark 51 .

Corresponding to the standard measurement unit and its fractional increments, the lengths of the linear marks in other embodiments will decrease sequentially.

The linear markings 21 , 47 , 49 , 51 , 53 are preferably of distinctly different colours. The linear markings 21 are of a color clearly distinguishable from the color of said linear markings 47 , 49 , 51 and 53 . The linear markings 47 are in another color, clearly distinguishable from the color of said linear markings 21 , 49 , 51 and 53 . The linear marking 49 is again in another color, clearly distinguishable from the color of said linear markings 21 , 47 , 51 and 53 . The linear markings 51 are again in another color, clearly distinguishable from the color of said linear markings 21 , 47 , 49 and 53 . And the linear mark 53 is in another color, which is clearly distinguished from the color of the linear marks 21 , 47 , 49 and 51 .

Adopt thicker linear marks with the same length and color as the linear marks on the transparent sheet, and mark the subdivision area of the standard measurement unit on the linear marks 47 of the transparent sheets 11, 12, 13, 14 , 49, 51, 53.

In other embodiments, the linear markings of the unit of measurement and their fractional increments may be of a distinctly different color and thickness, clearly distinguishable from each other of the linear markings included in the embodiments.

The transparent sheet may be placed on the substrate such that the fractional increments of the engraved units of measure are aligned with the engraved units of measure, showing the relationship between the units of measure and their fractional increments .

The base plate 10 and the base plate sheets 11, 12, 13, 14 may be bound with rivets, loop joints, conventional binding, heat lamination, living hinges, hook closures, velo binding, nylon drawstrings, repositionable Adhesive or any other means of holding two or more parts together. The substrate 10 and the transparent thin plates 11, 12, 13, 14 may not be combined together. The substrate 10 may be used alone or in combination with the transparent thin plates 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 in various combinations.

In use, the substrate as shown in Figure 1 can and can be used independently. The user places the object on the zero line marker (shown as visual marker A in Figure 1 and B in Figure 4) and measures to the nearest full standard unit of measure. The transparent sheet 11 can/may be placed on the substrate 10, as shown in FIGS. The zero line mark A on the substrate 10 and the zero line mark A on the transparent thin plate 11 start to be aligned. The user places the object on the zero line marker and measures the fractional increment to the nearest said standard unit of measurement.

This step can/can be repeated until the user has placed said transparent sheet 12, 13, 14 on said substrate 10 and said transparent sheet 11, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 .

The standard unit of measure does not have to be a linear unit of measure. For example, the base plate may be inscribed with standard units of time (such as hours), standard units of volume (such as gallons or liters), or incremental angular units of measure. Then, one or more transparent sheets can be engraved with fractional units of time (such as half an hour, quarter of an hour or minute), fractional units of volume (cup, pint, quart, half gallon or deciliter) , or angular units of measure.

For volumetric measurements, when the base plate is marked with gallons, one or more transparent sheets may be marked with metric units, such as liters and deciliters, to show how gallons are converted to metric equivalents. Additional clear sheets may be engraved with fractional gallon units showing how cups, pints, quarts, and half gallons relate, and showing how these units are converted to metric equivalents. On the other hand, the substrate can be engraved with metric units, such as liters, and for conversion and comparison with imperial units, the transparent sheet is engraved with imperial units and their fractional units, and the transparent sheet is engraved with fractions of liters to indicate relative to liters Relationship.

For angle measurement, the substrate can represent a semicircle of 180 degrees, preferably in the form of a protractor, and the transparent thin plate marks its fractional units, such as 1 degree and 10 degree units. A transparent sheet can be used to mark arcs, showing the relationship between degrees and radians. On the other hand, the substrate can represent a semicircle of 180 degrees, and the semicircle is marked with units of one degree and ten degrees that can generally be found on a protractor. Moreover, the transparent thin plate can represent trigonometric functions such as sine, cosine, tangent, etc., representing The relationship between the trigonometric functions as a function of the size of the angle is obtained, so that the trigonometric functions of any set angle can be quickly and accurately determined.

For time measurement, the base plate may be circular, representing the clock face of a common twelve-hour figure. A transparent sheet can be engraved with five-minute units, showing how the twelve-hour figure shows hours and minutes at the same time. Other transparent plates can be used to mark half-hours or quarter-hours, showing the relationship between these fractions.

Thus, Figures 1 and 2a-e also represent a ruler with units of volume engraved on it. The linear scale 21 of the base plate 10 can be defined as gallons, the linear scale 47 of the top sheet 11 for half gallons, the linear scale 49 for the top sheet 12 for quarts, the linear scale 51 for the top sheet 13 for pints, and the linear scale 47 for the top sheet 14 to indicate quarts. The scale 35 indicates the cup size. On the other hand, the linear scales 51 and 53 can be marked to represent liters and deciliters.

FIG. 7 depicts clock face 110 having a circular perimeter defined by edge 118 . The surface 116 of the base plate 110 is provided with a linear scale 121 arranged perpendicular to the edge 118 and engraved with the usual twelve markings representing both hours and minutes. The top sheets 111, 112, 113 have circular peripheries defined by edges 132, 134, 136, respectively. The upper surface 122 of the top sheet 111 is provided with numerical markings 147 indicating the respective hours of the day corresponding to the respective markings. The upper surface 124 of the top sheet 112 is provided with numeral markings 149 indicating the minutes of the hour represented by each marking. The upper surface 126 of the top sheet 113 is provided with a linear scale 151 arranged perpendicular to the edge 136 and defining quarter-hour subdivisions marked by fractional markings 152 .

On the other hand, the instrumentation of FIG. 7 can be used to represent the relationship between angular units of measure and trigonometric functions. In this embodiment of the invention, the surface 116 of the base plate 110 is provided with a linear scale 121 arranged perpendicular to the edge 118 and defining a circumference. The numerical marks are equivalent to the degree value corresponding to the individual linear marks also included. The upper surface 122 of the sheet 111 is provided with numerical markings depicting radian values corresponding to the degree values depicted on the surface of the substrate. The upper surface 124 of the sheet 112 is provided with numerical markings, the sinusoidal values depicted corresponding to the degree values depicted on the surface of the substrate. The upper surface 126 of the sheet 113 is provided with numerical markings depicting cosine values corresponding to the degree values depicted on the surface of the substrate.

This embodiment is also a useful tool for teaching methods of vector arithmetic. Half of this embodiment, from zero degrees to 180 degrees, is useful in the use of protractors and in teaching the relationship between trigonometric functions and protractor angles.

Yet another application of this embodiment of the invention is in teaching the fundamentals of navigation and orientation. As in the previous embodiments, the surface 116 of the substrate 110 is provided with numerically marked linear scales 121 arranged perpendicular to the edge 118 and defining degrees of circumference, the numerical marks of which delineate the degree values of the respective linear scales. The upper surface 122 of the sheet 111 is provided with linear scales arranged perpendicularly to the edge 132 at 0°, 90°, 180° and 270° of the circumference and engraved with marks equivalent to north, south, east and west. The upper surface 124 of the top sheet 112 is provided with a linear scale arranged perpendicular to the edge 134 and defining subdivisions of the linear markings of the top sheet 111 corresponding to the compass divisions northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest. The markings on the surface 124 of the top sheet 112 are equivalent to the respective intermediate compass divisions. The upper surface 126 of the thin plate 113 is provided with a linear scale arranged perpendicular to the edge 136 and further detailed at points corresponding to the intermediate compass divisions such as north-northeast, east-northeast, east-southeast, etc. Partitioning of the surface 124 of the sheet 112. The surface 126 of the thin plate 113 is also provided with markings equivalent to the aforementioned compass divisions.

This embodiment of the invention is also useful in teaching the degrees of circumference corresponding to and between the compass divisions, enabling the student to quickly understand what is required to change the direction of movement from the first to the second compass division. Rotation degree.

This embodiment of the invention can be modified by using a base plate without linear scales or markings, and by substituting the base plate's disk chart style scores for each top sheet's linear scale to represent the fractional relationship. One top sheet can be depicted as a half "part" and the other top sheet can be depicted as one or more quarter "parts", including how to divide a half "part" into a quarter "part ", another top sheet may be depicted as one or more eighths, including a depiction of how each quarter is divided into eighths, etc.

The invention includes a method by which the relationship between volume units, time units and angular units of measure can be represented and taught with the apparatus of the invention. The invention also includes a method by which vector calculations and navigation can be shown and taught with the apparatus of the invention.

The above description of the preferred embodiments should be considered as an explanation, not a limitation, of the invention as defined by the claims. It goes without saying that many variations and combinations of the features described above are possible without departing from the invention as specified in the claims. Such changes are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (8)

1. A measuring and teaching instrument comprising: (a) a substrate having a top and bottom surface and an elongated rectangular perimeter defined by upper and lower long edges and front and rear short edges, said top surface having evenly spaced linear graduations arranged as perpendicular to said upper long edge and defining a first standard unit of measure; and (b) a top transparent sheet having a top surface and a bottom surface and an elongated rectangular perimeter defined by upper and lower long edges and front and rear short edges, the top surface of said top transparent sheet having linear graduations evenly spaced, said linear scale is arranged perpendicular to said upper long edge of said top transparent sheet and defines a second standard unit of measurement for measuring the same parameter measured by said first standard unit of measurement; Wherein, the transparent thin plate can be placed on the substrate, so that the linear scale defining the first standard unit of measurement can be aligned with the linear scale defining the second standard unit of measurement, thereby showing the relationship between said first and second units of measurement; at least one additional transparent sheet having top and bottom surfaces and an elongated rectangular perimeter defined by upper and lower long edges and front and rear short edges, each additional transparent sheet having evenly spaced linear graduations on the top surface , the linear scale is arranged perpendicular to the upper long edge of each additional transparent sheet and defines different fractional increments of the first or second standard unit of measurement; thus, each additional transparent sheet can be placed on the substrate and the top transparent sheet, so that the upper long edge of each additional transparent sheet can be aligned with the upper long edge of the substrate and the top transparent sheet, and through the top transparent sheet can The additional transparent sheets are seen with linear scales showing the relationship between the first and second units of measure on the base and top transparent sheets and the fractional increments on each additional transparent sheet. 2. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the first standard unit of measurement is imperial and the second standard unit of measurement is metric. 3. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the first standard unit of measurement is metric and the second standard unit of measurement is imperial. 4. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the unit of measure is a linear unit of measure. 5. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the unit of measure is a volumetric unit of measure. 6. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the unit of measure is an angular unit of measure. 7. A measuring and teaching apparatus comprising: (a) a substrate having a top and bottom surface and an elongated rectangular perimeter defined by upper and lower long edges and front and rear short edges, said top surface having evenly spaced linear graduations arranged as an inch width division perpendicular to said upper long edge and defining said substrate top surface, optionally including at least one non-decimal fraction increment thereof; and (b) a top transparent sheet having a top surface and a bottom surface and an elongated rectangular perimeter defined by upper and lower long edges and front and rear short edges, the top surface of said top transparent sheet having linear graduations evenly spaced, said linear scale is disposed perpendicular to said upper long edge of said top transparent sheet and defines decimal fraction increments of at least one inch wide divisions of said top surface of said substrate; Wherein, said top transparent sheet can be placed on said substrate such that said linear scale defining said decimal fraction increments can be combined with said linear scale defining each inch width division and any non-decimal fraction increment Align, thereby converting said inches and their non-decimal fractions into their decimal equivalents; at least one additional transparent sheet having top and bottom surfaces and an elongated rectangular perimeter defined by upper and lower long edges and front and rear short edges, each additional transparent sheet top surface having linear graduations evenly spaced, The linear scale is arranged perpendicular to the upper long edge of each additional transparent sheet and defines different decimal and non-decimal fractional increments for each inch width division of the substrate; thus, each additional transparent sheet can be placed on the base plate and said top transparent sheet, so that said upper long edge of each additional transparent sheet can be aligned with said upper long edge of said base plate and said top transparent sheet and can be seen through said top transparent sheet The additional clear sheets are linearly scaled to show each inch width division and any decimal and non-decimal fraction increments on the base and top clear sheets relative to the decimals on each additional clear sheet. and the relationship between non-decimal fraction increments. 8. The appliance of claim 7, wherein said linear scale of said top transparent sheet includes linear scales defining tenths of inches.

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