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The AutoAngler

Effective May 21, 1997, the AutoAngler is no longer patent pending as the patent has been granted. I was informed of this May 27, 2997. The patent number, #5692312, was issued by the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), on 2, December, 1997. The patent is available for licensing to manufacturors wishing to produce the AutoAngler for sale to the general public. Any information that you require, should you desire to license this patent for manufacture and sale to the public, is available at the AutoAngler information mailbox.

Unfortunately, my patent expired while I was waiting for somebody to take an interest in it. I couldn't sell water in the desert. Oh well, at least I tried.

Simply put, the AutoAngler is a series of cast blocks combined with a set of modified tape measures. Standard measuring systems measure only length, however, the AutoAngler measures shapes. Two blocks are mounted to the flat surface being measured at a set distance. Knowing this distance is important as the shape cannot be accurately duplicated without it. Each of the two tapes in the AutoAngler system has been modified with a pivot replacing the catch at the end of the tape. This pivot fits into the magnetic hole in the edges of each of the marking blocks affixed to the surface.

Slider blocks slide along each tape. The slider block on each tape is pulled along the tape, pulling more tape from the retractible housing as needed, until the marking pointer touches the point being measured. At this point, the slider block, then the quick catch is locked to hold the block at that distance from the pivot. Once both slider blocks have been locked into place, the pivots are removed from the first set of marking blocks and inserted into matching marking blocks on the work surface. These marking blocks must be the same distance apart as the original set and the tapes must remain on the side from which the measurement was taken. The left and right measurements must not be reversed.

Once inserted into the magnetic catches of these marking blocks, the pens in the slider blocks are used to draw arcs. These two arcs should intersect only once on the flat surface, and that will be your point. Mark this and go on to the next point until all the points are drawn in. When all the points are drawn in, connect the dots. Remember: the edges of the marking blocks are also points in the finished panel.

Changes have been made to this design, well within the limits of the Patent, in the continuous development of the AutoAngler. Recently, a digital tape replaced the older model and the slider block was attached to the bottom of this tape. This tape body now acts as the slider block. The attachment to the bottom of the tape body contains a series of magnetic sleves for attaching pointers and pen blocks. This allows the AutoAngler to be easily modified for places where the tape body is too large to fit into a corner.

Sketches of the blocks are now being updated for posting on this page.
Click here for the current sketches.
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