Tape rule holder

A tape rule holder of the type used by carpenters, plumbers, electricians and other trades persons formed from two die cut flat pieces of heavy duty, top grain saddle leather. The back piece of the tape rule holder includes belt slots in its upper section. The front piece or pocket-forming member of the tape rule holder is configured in its flat pre-assembly form with peripheral side rivet areas and a bottom rivet area, each defined by a fold line. When the front piece is riveted to the back piece there is formed a tape rule pocket comprising a front wall, side walls and a bottom wall and the side walls present on their inner portion side pocket pressure detent ridges. A leather strap member is affixed to the back piece and has a forwardly arched portion within the tape rule pocket to form an inner back pressure ridge which together with the side detent ridges apply pressure to a tape rule inserted into the leather tape rule holder to grip and maintain the tape rule therein against accidental dislodgement.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to tape rule holders of the type used by 
carpenters, plumbers, electricians and other construction and repair 
workers. Generally, these types of workers use during their work day 
heavy-duty tape rules of one inch or greater thickness carrying 25 or more 
feet of metallic measuring tape which is spring-wound within a metal tape 
rule case. Also, it is common practice for such workers and others to 
carry encased tape rules in a leather holder having belt slots so that the 
holder (along with other types of tool holders) may be mounted on a rugged 
waist-spanning belt. 
In most instances in the past, tape rule holders have been fabricated from 
heavy duty, top grain saddle leather with a front leather pocket-forming 
piece first die cut and die molded into pocket shape and thereafter 
double-riveted to a leather back piece having a pair of belt slots in its 
upper portion. Such tape rule holders have also included a safety strap, 
spanning the top pocket opening, for maintaining the encased tape rule in 
its seated position within the holder pocket when the tape rule is not in 
use by the worker thereby avoiding inadvertent loss or misplacement of the 
tape rule. 
A leather tape rule holder of the type described above, but without a top 
strap, has been disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,933 granted 
on Apr. 18, 1989 to Brett P. Seber, one of the inventors of the tape rule 
holder of the present invention. The tape rule pocket of the holder of 
such patent includes side walls presenting inwardly projecting pressure 
detent ridges which together grip a tape rule inserted into the pocket and 
maintain the tape rule therein against accidental dislodgement. The tape 
rule holder of the present invention comprises an improvement of the above 
noted patented holder in that additional means are provided to maintain 
the tape rule within the pocket to guard against accidental dislodgement 
thereof. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a leather tape rule 
holder, for mounting to a worker's belt, which includes in its holder 
pocket configuration inner side detent ridges and an inner back pressure 
strap which cooperate to firmly and safely maintain a metal encased tape 
rule within the pocket at times when a top safety strap is not in place 
across the top of the tape rule. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide a leather tape rule 
holder formed of front and back die cut flat leather pieces, and a die cut 
flat leather strap, with the front piece being configured so that upon 
riveting its side and bottom edge areas to the side and bottom edge areas 
of the back piece a tape rule pocket is formed which includes inner side 
detent ridges and with the strap being positioned within the pocket on the 
back piece so as to form an inner back pressure ridge, whereby the inner 
side detent ridges and the inner back pressure ridge cooperate to firmly 
grip and maintain a standard tape rule and its casing within such pocket. 
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the 
following summary and detailed descriptions of a preferred embodiment of 
the invention taken in conjunction with the ccompanying drawing figures. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a tape rule holder formed from die cut 
front and a back pieces of heavy duty, top grain saddle leather, together 
with a die cut flat leather strap. The back piece includes belt slots in 
its upper section and a lower central slot to receive the leather strap. 
The front piece or pocket-forming member is configured in its flat 
pre-assembly form with peripheral side rivet areas and a bottom rivet area 
each defined by a fold line. Upon rivet assembly of the leather strap to 
the back side of the back piece below the lower central slot, threading of 
the strap through the lower central slot of the back piece, and rivet 
assembly of the strap (above the central slot) to the inside of the back 
piece, there is formed an inner back pressure ridge. Thereafter, upon 
rivet assembly of the front pocket-forming piece to the back piece by 
flat-head rivets, with the front piece bowed outwardly to form a tape rule 
pocket, the resulting tape rule pocket includes pressure detent ridges on 
each inner side wall of the pocket. Upon insertion of a standard heavy 
duty encased tape rule into the pocket the detent side ridges and the 
inner back pressure ridge cooperate to grip the encased rule and maintain 
same within the pocket against accidental dislodgement, even when the 
extended portion of the strap is not in place across the top of the tape 
rule.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring now to the drawing figures, a preferred embodiment of the leather 
tape rule holder of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. The 
numeral 10 designates in general the assembled leather tape rule holder 
according to the invention with the unique built-in tape rule gripping 
features of the holder. The holder consists essentially of: a flat leather 
back piece or rear wall member 12, which includes upper belt slots 14 and 
a lower central slot 16 for receiving a strap member; and a front 
pocket-forming member 18 riveted in its peripheral side and bottom edge 
areas to the lower peripheral side and bottom edge areas of the back piece 
12. A tape rule of common configuration is shown in phantom outline in 
FIG. 1 as item T. 
The full flat configuration of rear wall or back piece member 12, before 
its utilization in the assembly of the tape holder 10, is shown in FIG. 4. 
The pre-assembly flat configuration of pocket-forming member 18 is shown 
in FIG. 5. The peripheral side rivet edge areas of member 18 are 
designated as areas "a" defined by fold lines 20. The peripheral bottom 
rivet edge area of member 18 is designated as area "b" defined by bottom 
fold line 22. The points of placement of the leather-joining rivets are 
indicated for each side and bottom rivet area of pocket-forming member 18 
by the small + marks in such areas. The pocket-forming member 18 of tape 
holder 10 (as shown in FIG. 5) is peripherally configured, and is provided 
with a cut-out area or port 24, so that upon its rivet affixation to back 
piece or rear wall member 12 (as shown in FIGS. 1-3) open ports A and B 
are created. 
It is to be particularly noted, by reference to the cutaway portion of the 
tape rule holder 10 as shown in FIG. 1 (and the holder as shown in FIG. 
3), that the side periphery rivet areas "a" of the pocket-forming member 
18 when riveted to the back piece 12 by flat head rivets R, result in the 
formation of a tape rule holder pocket P which includes pressure detent 
ridges 26 on each inner side wall of the pocket proximate the lower and 
rear portion thereof. 
The assembled leather tape rule holder 10 is provided with a leather strap 
28 (shown in its flat die cut pre-assembly form in FIG. 6 with rivet 
placement points indicated above intermediate area 28a and within lower 
area 28b by the small + marks). The strap 28 is first affixed in its lower 
end area 28b to the leather back piece 12 at its lower back side by a flat 
head rivet as shown in FIG. 2. Thereafter the strap 28 is threaded through 
slot 16 and thence riveted to the inside of the back piece 12 at a point 
mid-way of the top and bottom edges of thereof, the intermediate strap 
area 28a being arched forwardly of the back piece to form an inner back 
pressure ridge within the pocket P. Preferably, the riveting of the 
leather strap 28 to the leather back piece 12 of the tape rule holder 
occurs before the leather front pocket-forming member 18 is riveted to the 
back piece. The free end of the strap 28, in its area 28c, is provided 
with the female portion of a two part snap fastener 30 of known design as 
shown in FIG. 2. The male portion of fastener 30 is affixed in known 
manner to the central front portion of the pocket-forming member 18. 
Through the unique shape of the leather members forming the leather tape 
rule holder of the invention and the manner of assembly of the leather 
pocket-forming member 18 and the leather strap 28 to leather back piece 
12, the tape rule pocket P formed thereby includes a pressure detent ridge 
26 on each inner side wall of the pocket and a back pressure ridge 28a 
within the pocket. The pair of detent ridges and the back pressure ridge 
cooperate to hold tape rule T within the pocket P even when the extended 
portion of the strap is not affixed (by its snap fastener) in place across 
the top of the tape rule. 
In the specification and drawing figures there has been set forth a 
preferred embodiment of a leather tape rule holder which, in accordance 
with the invention, includes in its pocket configuration side detent 
ridges and a back pressure ridge which cooperate to firmly and safely 
maintain a tape rule within such pocket. Although specific terms have been 
employed in describing the invention, they are used in a generic and 
descriptive sense only and are not for purposes of limitation, the scope 
of the invention being defined in the following claims.