Patent ID: 7565751

Claim:
A retractable rule assembly, comprising: a housing assembly; a reel rotatably mounted in said housing assembly; an elongated blade formed of a ribbon of metal being wound on the reel, said elongated blade having a concavo-convex configuration when extended from said housing assembly, said elongated blade having a layer of opaque material on the concave side thereof, measuring indicia on top of the layer of opaque material, and a translucent fluorescent material overlying the indicia and the layer of opaque material, wherein light impinging on the fluorescent material is absorbed and discharged by the fluorescent material towards the opaque material so as to illuminate the layer of opaque material carrying the indicia so as to provide enhanced contrast of the indicia on the layer of opaque material; a coil spring formed of a ribbon of metal constructed to rotate said reel in said housing assembly in a direction to wind up the elongated blade onto said reel; and a blade holding assembly constructed to hold the blade in a position of extension outwardly of said housing assembly.