Abstract:
A dent measurement apparatus is presented. The dent measurement apparatus may be used in conjunction with documenting damage in objects, such as vehicles. Such damage may include dents, and the documentation process may include images or videos. To convey detail, it may be desirable to focus the images or videos closely on a damaged region and, in such cases, the dent measurement apparatus may help provide context for the size and depth of the damage. In particular, the dent measurement apparatus may removably attach to and extend from the damaged area such that the depth of damage may be determined relative to one or more markings on the body of the dent measurement apparatus.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     In certain industries, including the automotive resale industry, it is important to determine and convey information about the condition of items being resold to potential offsite purchasers. In some industries, such information may be conveyed via websites, electronic messaging, catalogs, or other methods. In the automotive resale industry, such information may be conveyed by, for example, an electronic condition report available from Manheim, Inc. Such electronic condition reports may include textual information about the condition of a vehicle available for resale as well as images of portions of the vehicle or images of the entire vehicle. 
     SUMMARY 
     A dent measurement apparatus is disclosed. In one aspect, a dent measurement apparatus having an elongated body and first and second ends is presented. The dent measurement apparatus may have an adhering component at the second end, and one or more markings on the elongated body and at predetermined distances from the second end. 
     In another aspect, a dent measurement apparatus having a substantially hollow elongated body with first and second ends is presented. The dent measurement apparatus may have a magnet at the second end, and at least partially fit within the elongated body. The dent measurement apparatus may also include a plurality of markings along the elongated body at predetermined distances from the second end. At the first end, the dent measurement apparatus may include a writing tip, which may be coverable by a removable cap that has proximal and distal portions. The distal portion of the cap may include a touch screen writing tip. 
     Other aspects of a dent measurement apparatus may include relative position indicators postionable about the elongated body, width measuring devices, and telescoping elongated bodies. These and other aspects are further disclosed in the Detailed Description included herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numbers in different figures indicate similar or identical items. 
         FIG. 1  is an illustrative example of one embodiment of a dent measurement apparatus. 
         FIG. 2  is an illustrative example of an embodiment of a dent measurement apparatus with a cap removed. 
         FIG. 3  is an illustrative example of an alternative embodiment of a dent measurement apparatus. 
         FIG. 4  is an illustrative example of an application of a dent measurement apparatus. 
         FIG. 5  is an illustrative example of a removable width measuring device that can be used with a dent measurement apparatus. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Illustrative embodiments will now be described more fully hereafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments are shown. The disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. 
     One exemplary embodiment of the dent measurement apparatus  1  is shown in  FIG. 1 . As illustrated in this embodiment, the dent measurement apparatus  1  may comprise a body  10 . The body  10  may be of various fixed lengths, or may be telescopic (e.g., an extendable rod). In some instances, the body may be roughly the size of a pen (approximately 7-8 inches long). The body  10  may be solid or tubular, and may have any cross-sectional shape including, as shown in the present embodiment, a hollow circular cross-section. For purposes of illustration, and not limitation, other cross sectional shapes could be polygons (quadrilateral shapes, parallelograms, pentagons, hexagons, etc.), ovals, star shapes, etc. 
     An adhering component, such as a magnet  12 , may be included in one end of the body  10  so that the dent measurement apparatus  1  may be removably attached to an object. The magnet  12  may be mechanically fit within the body  10 , adhesively attached to the body  10 , pressed onto the body  10 , or included in the body  10  as it is formed (e.g., the body may be extruded about the magnet  12 ). In some embodiments, it may be desirable to heat the body  10  such that its material expands and then the magnet  12  may be pushed into the body and held in place when the body  10  cools and contracts. Those of skill in the art will realize that the magnet  12  could also be attached to the body  10  in a plurality of other ways, and that the above examples are strictly illustrative and not limiting. Further, the magnet  12  may be entirely contained within the body  10 , exposed on one or more surfaces, or exposed around the periphery of the body  10 . In a preferred embodiment, the magnet  12  may emit a sufficiently strong field to hold the body  10  to an object in a variety of positions (e.g., protruding approximately horizontally from the surface of the object) when the body  10  is otherwise unsupported. Those of skill in the art will realize that in other embodiments, not shown, that the magnet  12  may be supplemented or replaced by other adhering components that help affix the dent measurement apparatus  1  to the dented object. For instance, in some embodiments, a suction cup or an adhesive substance might be affixed to the end of the body  10 . 
     Along the length of the body  10 , the dent measurement apparatus  1  may include a series of markings  14 . These markings  14  may be printed or painted onto the body  10 , pressed or formed into the body  10 , or otherwise may include one or more rings around the circumference of the body  10 , or only as lines/splines along a portion of the body  10 . As illustrated in the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the markings  14  may be located at fixed distances from the end of the body  10 . For instance, the markings may be located ¼ inch, 1 inch, and 2 inches from the end of the body  10 . Such distances may provide threshold depths that correspond to certain reconditioning or repair milestones, such as changes in the time required to complete the repair or depths at which a part must be replaced rather than repaired. For instance, each marking may represent a dent depth at which an additional hour of reconditioning labor will be required (i.e., if a dent is two markings deep, two hours of reconditioning labor will be required). Depending on the intended application of the dent measurement apparatus  1 , it may be desirable to have more or fewer markings or markings at different increments (for instance, at 1 cm, 3 cm, and 5 cm) or regular increments (i.e., the body  10  could be ruled). It may also be desirable to have a limited number of markings so that the user and any viewers can easily distinguish each individual marking. In other embodiments, the markings could be different colors, colored bands of different widths, or perhaps colors that transition from one to the next, or combinations of the above. In this fashion, one might be able to tell both precisely where the markings are relative to the end of the body  10 , and also roughly the relevant distances between the markings. In some embodiments, the markings may be labeled to indicate their distance from the magnet end of the body  10 . 
     In some embodiments, it may be desirable to include a relative position indicator such as a slider  16  that may be adjusted along the length of the body  10 . By adjusting the position of the slider  16  relative to the markings  14 , specific distances of interest may be indicated. The slider  16  may include an elastic band, a flexible ring, an o-ring, a rigid piece, or any other element that may be fitted about or snapped to the body  10  such that it may move but still remain at the desired position. In other embodiments, the relative position indicator may be a piece that snaps to the body or adhesively sticks to the body to indicate a relevant distance of interest. The relative position indicator may be made from a material of contrasting color relative to the body  10  and the markings  14 . 
     In some embodiments, the body  10  may mate with a cap  18 . This cap  18  may include a clip such that the dent measurement apparatus  1  may be clipped to an article of clothing, a clipboard, or the like. Further, in some embodiments, such as the one shown in  FIG. 2 , the cap  18  may be removable from the body  10 . In such embodiments, the end of the body  10  from which the cap  18  is removed may include a writing tip  20 . Such writing tips  20  may include, for example, ink pens, markers, pencils, or styluses. As such, the dent measurement apparatus  1  may provide a user with both a tool to indicate the depth of damage to an object as well as a tool for transcribing notes. In yet other embodiments, the body  10  may include a laser pointer. For instance, upon activation, the laser may be emitted from the end opposite the magnet  12 . In yet other embodiments, a light, such as an LED, could be positioned at the end opposite the adhering component. 
     In embodiments such as the one illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the cap  18  may include a touch screen tip  22  suitable for use with touch screen devices such as mobile phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants, tablet computers, and the like. This may be particularly desirable in colder climates in which a user is likely to wear gloves while inspecting objects, yet may still need to record information in a touch screen device. Such touch screen tips  22  may include active styluses, such as electrode tips, and passive styluses. The stylus may be a roughly hemispheric, soft elastomeric piece, a rigid piece, or any other stylus known to those of skill in the art. 
     In many contexts, potential buyers of previously owned objects may be remotely located from those objects and may not have an opportunity or manner in which to inspect the items prior to a sale. In such scenarios, it is helpful to convey to potential buyers information regarding the condition of the item for sale. Such information may be conveyed both in writing, as well as by pictures and/or videos. While this Detailed Description focuses on examples within the automotive resale context, the present disclosure is not so limited. Instead, the dent measurement apparatus  1  and its applications could be broader. For instance, such an apparatus could be used in the context of inspecting and illustrating the condition of other vehicles, including recreational vehicles (RVs), boats, aircraft, motorcycles and scooters, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), construction equipment, heavy-duty trucks, and work vehicles. Similarly, the dent measurement apparatus  1  could be used with other items as well, such as furniture, equipment, or any other item that is susceptible to damage by denting. 
     One exemplary use of the dent measurement apparatus  1  is illustrated in  FIG. 4 , which depicts a simplified illustration of a portion of a motor vehicle  26 . The motor vehicle  26  includes at least one damaged area  24 . As shown in views (a) and (b) of  FIG. 4 , the damaged area  24  may comprise a dented region. In such scenarios, the dent measurement apparatus  1  may be used substantially as shown in  FIG. 4 . The user may place the dent measurement apparatus  1  in the dent at the deepest point of damage. Because of the magnet  12 , the dent measurement apparatus  1  will protrude from the dent substantially normal to the dent (or at least the surface on which the dent measurement apparatus  1  is placed). In this manner, the depth of the dent can be approximated using the markings relative to the adjacent, undented portions of the motor vehicle  26 . Moreover, because the dent measurement apparatus  1  is magnetically and removably attached to the motor vehicle  26 , the user may capture video and/or pictures of the damaged region. In images that are tightly focused on the damaged region, the dent measurement apparatus  1  may provide context as to the depth of the damage. Moreover, in embodiments that include a slider  16 , the slider may be set at the approximate level of the original, undamaged body panel (i.e., roughly the level of the adjacent undamaged area). In this way, the user may capture images that help further convey to viewers the depth and extent of the damage. Further, the dent measurement apparatus  1  enables the user to convey this information without further damaging the motor vehicle  26 . 
     In other embodiments, it may be desirable to include other components that may be removably attached to the dent measurement apparatus  1 . For example, in some embodiments, it may be desirable to have one or more removable width measuring devices  28  such as the one shown in  FIG. 5 . Such devices may allow the dent measurement apparatus  1  to also be used to indicate the width of the damaged area  24 . In practice, such a width measuring device  28  may slidably attach to the dent measurement apparatus  1  by way of slidably fitting the central opening  30  about the dent measurement apparatus  1 . Width indicators  32  may then indicate the size of the damaged area  24 . Alternatively, such a width measuring device  28  might have a notch, for instance, a u-shaped notch that snaps about the body  10  of the dent measurement apparatus  1  instead of a central opening  30 . In yet other embodiments, the width measurement device might be a portion of the body  10 , which is configured to fold down at roughly right angles to the axis of the body itself Alternatively, perhaps the body has openings or recesses to which one or more width measuring pieces can inserted or fit. 
     While the above description was made in reference to a motor vehicle, not all objects that may include dents are made from a magnetic material. For instance, objects may be made from various plastics, composites, aluminum, and other non-magnetic materials. In such cases, it may be desirable to use a dent measurement apparatus that includes a suction cup or an adhesive tip instead of, or in addition to, the magnet. Alternatively, in some circumstances, a dent measurement apparatus might be held in position by placing a powerful magnet on the opposite side of the damaged piece of the object&#39;s skin (i.e., the magnet of the dent measurement apparatus is on one side of the skin, and a powerful magnet is on the other side, which creates a force to hold the dent measurement apparatus). 
     Although the disclosure has been described and illustrated with reference to specific illustrative embodiments thereof, it is not intended that the disclosure be limited to those illustrative embodiments. Those skilled in the art will recognize that variations and modifications can be made without departing from the true scope and spirit of the disclosure as defined by the claims that follow. It is therefore intended to include within the disclosure all such variations and modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims and the equivalents thereof.