Transparent measuring device with enhanced visibility lines

A transparent ruler, comprising:

• a rigid transparent substrate;
• at least one transparent indicia on the substrate;
• and
• a white opaque indicia formed on the at least one transparent indicia and having a width less that a width of the at least one transparent indicia to enhance visibility of the at least one transparent indicia.

A transparent measuring device having enhanced lines, comprising:

• a transparent sheet of material having planar opposing front and back surfaces;
• a plurality of first opaque lines formed on one of the front and back surfaces of the sheet of transparent material;
• at least one transparent line formed on the one of the front and back surfaces of the transparent sheet of material to be colinear with at least one first opaque line, the at least one transparent line having a width greater than the at least one first opaque line so as to be visible on at least one side of the at least one opaque line, the at least one transparent line formed of a contrasting color to a color of the at least one first opaque line, the at least one colinear transparent line with the at least one first opaque line forming colinear composite lines structured to converge at points of convergence without touching to form a transparent viewing area at each point of convergence;
• and
• at least one second opaque line formed on the at least one first opaque line to be colinear with the first opaque line, the at least one second opaque line having a width no greater than the first opaque lines and having a color that enhances the visibility of the at least one transparent line, the at least one opaque line is formed from colinear dashes.

A tool for measuring and marking material and for guiding a hand-held cutting tool, comprising:

• a transparent substrate having mutually-opposing planar front and back surfaces and formed of a thickness that is adapted to guide the hand-held rotary cutting tool;
• a first set of opaque lines formed on at least one of the front and back surfaces of the transparent substrate;
• and
• at least one transparent line formed on at least one of the front and back surfaces of the transparent substrate and colinear with at least one first opaque line of the first set of opaque lines, the at least one transparent line formed to have a width greater than a width of the respective at least one first opaque line and positioned to at least partially overlap the at least one first opaque line, the at least one transparent line formed of a contrasting color to a color of the at least one first opaque line, the at least one transparent line overlapping the at least first opaque line forming colinear composite lines structured to converge at points of convergence without touching to form a transparent viewing area at each point of convergence, wherein the at least one transparent line is formed of one from among a pigment that is excitable when exposed to light and retains luminance when not exposed to light, a phosphorescent pigment, and a pigment that is responsive to black light.

A tool for use in measuring, marking, and cutting material, comprising:

• a transparent substrate having mutually-opposing planar front and back surfaces;
• a set of opaque lines formed on at least one of the front and back surfaces of the transparent substrate;
• and
• at least one piece of flexible material applied to the transparent substrate to form an enhanced visibility composite line with at least one opaque line from the set of opaque lines and wherein at least one transparent line is formed on the flexible material of contrasting color to a color of the at least one opaque line and is aligned with the at least one opaque line to at least partially overlap the at least one opaque line, the transparent line adapted to enhance the visibility of the composite line in low-light conditions, the overlapping transparent line and the at least one opaque line forming colinear composite lines structured to converge at points of convergence without touching to form a transparent viewing area at each point of convergence, wherein the transparent line is formed of one from among a pigment that is excitable when exposed to light and retains luminance when not exposed to light, a pigment that is responsive to black light, and a phosphorescent pigment.

A method of forming a tool for use in measuring, marking, and cutting material, the method comprising:

• providing a substrate that is rigid and transparent and having mutually-opposing planar front and back surfaces;
• forming at least one opaque line on one of the front and back surfaces of the substrate;
• and
• forming a transparent line over the at least one opaque line, the transparent line formed to have a width greater than a width of the opaque line and positioned to at least partially overlap the opaque line, the transparent line formed of a color that is contrasting to the color of the opaque line and that reacts to light to provide enhanced visibility of the composite line formed by the transparent line and the opaque line, the at least one overlapping opaque and transparent lines forming colinear composite lines structured to converge at points of convergence without touching to form a transparent viewing area at each point of convergence.

A method of forming a tool for use in measuring, marking, and cutting material, the method comprising:

• providing a transparent substrate having mutually-opposing planar front and back surfaces;
• forming a first set of opaque lines on at least one of the front and back surfaces of the transparent substrate;
• forming a second set of opaque lines over the first set of opaque lines, the second set of opaque lines having a width no greater than a width of the first set of opaque lines and of a white color;
• and
• applying a flexible material to the substrate, the flexible material having a transparent line formed thereon of a width greater than a width of at least one opaque line of the first set of opaque lines and positioned to at least partially overlap the at least one opaque line, the transparent line formed of a lighter contrasting color to a color of the at least one opaque line to form a composite line of the transparent line and the at least one opaque line, the transparent line formed to react to light to enhance the visibility of the transparent line in a predetermined light condition, the overlapping set of opaque lines and the transparent lines forming colinear composite lines structured to converge at points of convergence without touching to form a transparent viewing area at each point of convergence, and wherein the predetermined light condition comprises one from between a black light condition and a low-light condition.

A method of making a tool, comprising:

• providing a substrate formed of transparent, rigid material having planar opposing front and back surfaces;
• forming a plurality of first opaque lines on one of the front and back surfaces of the sheet of transparent material;
• and
• forming at least one transparent line on one of the front and back surfaces of the transparent sheet of material to be colinear with at least one first opaque line, the at least one transparent line having a width greater than the at least one first opaque line so as to be visible on at least one side of the at least one opaque line, the at least one transparent line formed of a contrasting color to a color of the at least one first opaque line, the at least overlapping opaque and transparent lines forming colinear composite lines structured to converge at points of convergence without touching to form a transparent viewing area at each point of convergence, and further comprising forming at least one second opaque line on at least one first opaque line to be colinear with the at least one first opaque line and formed to be between the at least one first opaque line and the transparent line and having a width no greater than the first opaque line, the at least one second opaque line having a color that enhances the visibility of the at least one transparent line, and forming the at least one transparent line comprises forming the at least one transparent line of one from among a pigment that reacts to light to provide enhanced visibility, a pigment that reacts to black light, and a pigment that presents a neon effect.

A method of making a tool for measuring and marking material and for guiding a hand-held cutting tool, comprising:

• forming a transparent substrate of a rigid material having mutually-opposing planar front and back surfaces and formed to have a thickness that is adapted to guide the hand-held rotary cutting tool;
• forming a first set of opaque lines formed on at least one of the front and back surfaces of the transparent substrate;
• forming at least one set of transparent lines on at least one of the front and back surfaces of the transparent substrate and colinear with the first set of opaque lines, the at least one set of transparent lines formed of a width at least six times greater than a width of the respective first set of opaque lines and positioned to at least partially overlap the first set of opaque lines, the at least one set of transparent lines formed of a contrasting color to a color of the first set of opaque lines, the at least one set of transparent lines overlapping the first set of opaque lines forming colinear composite lines structured to converge at points of convergence without touching to form a transparent viewing area at each point of convergence, wherein the at least one set of transparent lines is formed of one from among a pigment that is excitable when exposed to light and retains luminance when not exposed to light, a phosphorescent pigment, and a material that presents a neon effect to a user;
• and
• forming a second set of opaque lines directly on the first set of opaque lines and between the first set of opaque line and the at least one set of transparent lines, the second set of opaque lines having a width no greater than the width of the first set of opaque lines and having a color that enhances the visibility of the at least first set of transparent lines.

A method of forming a tool for measuring and marking material and for guiding a hand-held cutting tool, comprising:

• providing a rigid transparent substrate having mutually-opposing planar front and back surfaces and formed to have a thickness that is adapted to guide the hand-held rotary cutting tool;
• forming a first set of opaque lines on at least one of the front and back surfaces of the transparent substrate;
• forming a second set of opaque lines on the first set of opaque lines and having a width no greater than the first set of opaque lines;
• and
• forming a set of transparent lines on the second set of opaque lines and having a width at least six times greater than the width of the second set of opaque lines and the first set of opaque lines and to be colinear with the first and second sets of opaque lines, the set of transparent lines positioned to overlap both sides of the first and second sets of opaque lines, the set of transparent lines formed of a contrasting color to a color of the first set of opaque lines, the set of transparent lines overlapping the first and second sets of opaque lines forming colinear composite lines structured to converge at points of convergence without touching to form a transparent viewing area at each point of convergence, and wherein the set of transparent lines is formed of one from among a pigment that is excitable when exposed to light and retains luminance when not exposed to light, a phosphorescent pigment, a pigment that is responsive to light, and a material that presents a neon effect to a user.