IP Library Granted Patent US 12,480,764
Granted Patent B2
US 12,480,764 · App. 18/020,729 · Granted Nov 25, 2025

Adjustable angle pocket level

Inventors: Adam Baxter (Raleigh, NC); Sujith Sunny (Huntersville, NC); Bryan Washburn (Charlotte, NC); Anthony Katsaros (Durham, NC)
Assignee: Apex Brands, Inc.
G01C9/26
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,480,764
App. No.
18/020,729
Granted
Nov 25, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A measuring device may include a housing having a front wall and a rear wall operably coupled to each other via a base portion and defining a receiving space between the front wall and the rear wall, a rotatable vial holder disposed in the receiving space and being configured to hold a vial, and a locking assembly having a locked state in which the rotatable vial holder is prevented from rotating relative to the housing. The locking assembly is also configured to enable the rotatable vial holder to be rotated relative to the housing when the locking assembly is in an unlocked state. The rotatable vial holder may be rotatable to a deployed position to define a selected angle between the base portion and the vial, and rotatable to a storage position in which the vial is enclosed inside the receiving space of the housing.

Claims (43)

1 . A measuring device comprising:

a housing having a front wall and a rear wall operably coupled to each other via a base portion and defining a receiving space between the front wall and the rear wall;

a rotatable vial holder configured to hold a vial, the rotatable vial holder being disposed in the receiving space; and

a locking assembly configured to include a locked state in which the rotatable vial holder is prevented from rotating relative to the housing, the locking assembly being configured to enable the rotatable vial holder to be rotated relative to the housing when the locking assembly is in an unlocked state,

wherein the rotatable vial holder is rotatable to a deployed position to define a selected angle between the base portion and the vial,

wherein the rotatable vial holder is rotatable to a storage position in which the vial is enclosed inside the receiving space of the housing,

wherein the measuring device further comprises a position retaining assembly configured to define a plurality of selected angles between the base portion and the vial that correspond to segments of a first scale, and

wherein the position retaining assembly is further configured to define a second plurality of selected angles between the base portion and the vial that correspond to segments of a second scale.

2 . The device of claim 1 ,

wherein the position retaining assembly is configured to provide audible and/or haptic feedback to indicate alignment of the rotatable vial holder and the housing at each respective one of the selected angles.

3 . The device of claim 2 , wherein the first scale corresponds to rotation in a first direction from a reference position and the second scale corresponds to rotation in a second direction from the reference position.

4 . The device of claim 3 , wherein the first scale and the second scale have different segment sizes.

5 . The device of claim 4 , wherein segments of the first scale are spaced apart equally from each other, and

wherein at least some of the segments of the second scale are not equally spaced apart from each other.

6 . The device of claim 2 , wherein the position retaining assembly comprises a protrusion disposed at a first surface of one of the housing or the rotatable vial holder, and a plurality of recesses disposed at a second surface of the other one of the rotatable vial holder or the housing, and

wherein the plurality of recesses correspond to the selected angles.

7 . A measuring device comprising:

a housing having a front wall and a rear wall operably coupled to each other via a base portion and defining a receiving space between the front wall and the rear wall;

a rotatable vial holder configured to hold a vial, the rotatable vial holder being disposed in the receiving space; and

a locking assembly configured to include a locked state in which the rotatable vial holder is prevented from rotating relative to the housing, the locking assembly being configured to enable the rotatable vial holder to be rotated relative to the housing when the locking assembly is in an unlocked state,

wherein the rotatable vial holder is rotatable to a deployed position to define a selected angle between the base portion and the vial,

wherein the rotatable vial holder is rotatable to a storage position in which the vial is enclosed inside the receiving space of the housing, and

wherein the housing comprises a transverse aperture that extends from the front wall to the rear wall through the base portion.

8 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the locking assembly comprises a button movable axially along an axis of the rotatable vial holder to transition the locking assembly between the locked state and the unlocked state.

9 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the locking assembly is biased to the locked state.

10 . A measuring device comprising:

a housing having a front wall and a rear wall operably coupled to each other via a base portion and defining a receiving space between the front wall and the rear wall;

a rotatable vial holder configured to hold a vial, the rotatable vial holder being disposed in the receiving space;

a locking assembly having a locked state in which the rotatable vial holder is prevented from rotating relative to the housing, the locking assembly being configured to enable the rotatable vial holder to be rotated relative to the housing when the locking assembly is in an unlocked state; and

a position retaining assembly configured to define a plurality of selected angles between the base portion and the vial that correspond to segments of a first scale,

wherein the position retaining assembly is configured to provide audible and/or haptic feedback to indicate alignment of the rotatable vial holder and the housing at each respective one of the selected angles, and

wherein the position retaining assembly is further configured to define a second plurality of selected angles between the base portion and the vial that correspond to segments of a second scale.

11 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the first scale corresponds to rotation in a first direction from a reference position and the second scale corresponds to rotation in a second direction from the reference position.

12 . The device of claim 11 , wherein the first scale and the second scale have different segment sizes.

13 . The device of claim 12 , wherein segments of the first scale are spaced apart equally from each other, and

wherein at least some of the segments of the second scale are not equally spaced apart from each other.

14 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the rotatable vial holder is rotatable to a deployed position to define a selected angle between the base portion and the vial, and

wherein the rotatable vial holder is rotatable to a storage position in which the vial is enclosed inside the receiving space of the housing.

15 . The device of claim 14 , wherein the position retaining assembly comprises a protrusion disposed at a first surface of one of the housing or the rotatable vial holder, and a plurality of recesses disposed at a second surface of the other one of the rotatable vial holder or the housing, and

wherein the plurality of recesses correspond to the selected angles.

16 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the housing comprises a transverse aperture that extends from the front wall to the rear wall through the base portion.

17 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the locking assembly comprises a button movable axially along an axis of the rotatable vial holder to transition the locking assembly between the locked state and the unlocked state.

18 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the locking assembly is biased to the locked state.

Assignments (7)
NEW SUPER PRIORITY GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT Recorded Oct 28, 2025
From: APEX BRANDS, INC.
To: ALTER DOMUS (US) LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 073377/0567 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE PATENT NOS. 7444851 AND 11203070 WHICH WERE INCORRECTLY INCLUDED AND SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE RECORD PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 67310 FRAME 54. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SUPER PRIORITY GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS. Recorded Oct 10, 2025
From: APEX BRANDS, INC.; APEX TOOL GROUP, LLC
To: BARCLAYS BANK PLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 073078/0477 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE APPLICATION NO. 16/672703 PAT NO. 11191173 WHICH WAS INCORRECTLY INCLUDED AND SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE RECORDS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 67310 FRAME 54. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SUPER PRIORITY GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS. Recorded Aug 22, 2024
From: APEX BRANDS, INC.; APEX TOOL GROUP, LLC
To: BARCLAYS BANK PLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 068791/0141 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE THE APPLICATION NO. 16/672703 PAT. NO. 11191173 WAS INCORRCTLY INCLUDED AND SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE RECORDS. PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL: 66631 FRAME: 791. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SUPER PRIORITY GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT. Recorded Jun 25, 2024
From: APEX BRANDS, INC.
To: ALTER DOMUS (US) LLC
Reel/Frame 067884/0469 →
SUPER PRIORITY GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS Recorded May 3, 2024
From: APEX BRANDS, INC.; APEX TOOL GROUP, LLC
To: BARCLAYS BANK PLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 067310/0054 →
SUPER PRIORITY GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT Recorded Feb 20, 2024
From: APEX BRANDS, INC.
To: ALTER DOMUS (US) LLC
Reel/Frame 066631/0791 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 14, 2023
From: BAXTER, ADAM; SUNNY, SUJITH; WASHBURN, BRYAN; KATSAROS, ANTHONY
To: APEX BRANDS, INC.
Reel/Frame 062975/0468 →