Patent ID: 7395608

Claim:
A tape measure comprising a reel, a tape that is wound on the reel and can be reeled out, a hook attached to a free end of the tape, the tape comprising a concave-convex shape when it is reeled out, the concave-convex shape comprises a height and a width, and provides rigidity for the standout length, the tape comprising a flat shape when it is wound on the reel, the flat shape comprising a flattened width of 1 inch or larger, wherein the ratio of the height over width of the concave-convex shape is not larger than one fourth of the flattened width, and wherein the standout length is not larger than 100 times of the flattened width and within an error of 10%, wherein the tape can easily be wound and flattened on the reel, and will not be deformed because of change in stress when it is retroflexed and when it is wound.