Brake device for a tape rule

A brake device for a tape rule comprising:

• a housing composed of an upper housing and an lower housing, said upper and lower housings respectively having a pair of breaches defining an opening in said housing, a pair of guide slots, and a pair of slide slots formed therein and disposed in face-to-face relationship;
• a reel for winding a tape thereon being accommodated in said housing;
• a control device pivotally coupled to said housing and having a brake button portion and a release button portion respectively disposed in said opening formed by said pair of breaches, said brake button portion having an extended supporting arm formed on an end thereof, said supporting arm having a confining slit formed therein;
• and,
• a brake strap having a first end disposed in said confining slit and being slidably disposed in said slide slots, two pivot pins respectively extending from opposing side edges thereof and respectively disposed in said pair of guide slots, and a spring tongue disposed at a predetermined portion of said brake strap, said spring tongue having a protuberance formed at a distal end thereof and extending orthogonal said spring tongue and being blocked by an edge of one of said slide slots, wherein a second end of said brake strap is pressed against the tape responsive to depression of the brake button portion of said control device, said depression of said brake button portion displacing said brake strap through said slide slots and displacing said pivot pins from a first position in said guide slots to a second position therein, said spring tongue being resiliently displaced by said displacement of said brake strap to establish a bias force to reversibly displace said brake strap and thereby release the tape responsive to depression of said release button portion of said control device.