CABLE WINDING DEVICE

Abstract

A winding device for a flexible cable. The device includes a housing and a cable winding spool rotatably mounted within the housing. An opening formed through the housing to allow a cable to be wound on the spool and a spring applies torque to the spool in a cable-winding sense. The spool has a cylindrical winding surface and a flange projects radially from the winding surface part-way between the axial ends thereof. A cable hook is formed in the flange, whereby a loop may be formed part-way between the ends of the cable and that loop may be passed through the opening to engage with the hook of the flange so that rotation of the spool under the action of the spring will wind the cable onto the spool, to both sides of the flange.

Claims

1. A winding device for a flexible cable, the device comprising: a housing; a cable winding spool rotatably mounted within the housing; an opening formed through the housing to allow a cable to be wound on the spool; and a spring applying torque to the spool in a cable-winding sense; wherein the spool has a cylindrical winding surface, a flange projecting radially from the winding surface part-way between the axial ends thereof, and a cable hook is formed in the flange, whereby a loop may be formed part-way between the ends of the cable and that loop may be passed through the opening to engage with the hook of the flange so that rotation of the spool under the action of the spring will wind the cable onto the spool, to both sides of the flange.

2. The winding device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cable hook is defined by a slot formed in the flange and opening through the outer periphery of the flange thereof.

3. The winding device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the slot has a first part opening through the periphery of the flange and a second part extending at an obtuse angle to the first part from the radially-inner end thereof.

4. The winding device as claimed in claim 1, wherein there are two or more substantially similar cable hooks formed in the flange.

5. The winding device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the cable hooks are equi-spaced about the axis of rotation of the spool.

6. The winding device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing further comprises a separator adjacent the opening, the separator being configured to separate and guide the two parts of a looped cable engaged with the hook with one part to each side of the flange.

7. The winding device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the separator includes a pair of openings provided one each side of the flange for entry of the two parts of the cable into the opening in the housing.

8. The winding device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the separator includes a centrally disposed blade having a slot into which a periphery of the flange is received in a non-engaging manner.

9. The winding device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the separator projects radially outwardly from the housing with respect to the axis of the spool.

10. The winding device as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a releasable restraining mechanism acting to resist rotation of the spool under the action of the spring in a cable-winding sense.

11. The winding device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the restraining mechanism is a ratchet mechanism comprising a series of notches or teeth provided on the spool and a pawl or peg provided on the housing.

12. The winding device as claimed in claim 10, and further comprising a manually operable control mounted on the housing for effecting release of the restraining mechanism.

13. The winding device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the manually operable control includes a release button which when depressed with respect to the housing lifts the pawl or pegs out of engagement with the ratchet teeth or notches.

14. The winding device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the restraining mechanism is configured for automatic operation to restrain rotation of the spool following partial or complete unwinding of the cable off the spool, upon tension being applied to a cable engaged with the hook followed by release of the tension.

15. The winding device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the restraining mechanism is configured to allow automatic winding of the spool under the action of the spring following partial or complete unwinding of the cable off the spool.

16. The winding device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing defines a generally cylindrical internal chamber and the spool is rotatably mounted within the chamber.

17. The winding device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spool has a central opening and is rotatably mounted on a shaft provided within the housing.

18. The winding device as claimed in claim 17, wherein the spring is spiral-wound and has a first end connected to the spool and a second end connected to the shaft.

19. The winding device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spring is a flat spiral spring located within the spool.

20. The combination of the winding device according to claim 1, and an audio signal source incorporated within the same housing of the winding device and connected to a headphone cable with ear units on the distal end thereof.

Description

[0023] By way of example only, one specific embodiment of winding device of this invention will now be described in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0024] FIG. 1 is a general isometric view from above and one side of winding device of this invention;

[0025] FIG. 2 is a general isometric view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the other side of the device;

[0026] FIG. 3 is an alternative embodiment of housing cable separator;

[0027] FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the cable winding spool employed in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2;

[0028] FIG. 5 is a side view of the spool of FIG. 4;

[0029] FIG. 6 is a axial view of the spool of FIGS. 4 and 5;

[0030] FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the device of FIGS. 1 and 2; and

[0031] FIG. 8 shows the device of FIGS. 1 and 2 in use with a headphone cable, with the ear-bud units and jack-plug components lose.

[0032] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the embodiment of cable winding device has a housing 10 of generally circular cross-sectional shape and having substantially planar upper and lower end faces 11, 12, conjoined by a rounded side wall 13. The side wall 13 may be integrally formed with the upper end face 11 and the lower end face 12 may be separately formed and then attached to the side wall 13, by an adhesive or otherwise snap-fitted thereto. Alternatively, the side wall 13 could be integral with the lower end face 12, or there could be a join-line part-way along the height of the side wall 13, with part integral with the lower end face 12 and the other part integral with the upper end face 11.

[0033] A rounded opening 16 is formed in the side wall 13, to allow access to a spool 17 rotatably mounted within the housing 10. That spool 17 has a cylindrical winding surface 18 with a flange 19 projecting radially outwardly from the winding surface 18, approximately mid-way between the axial ends thereof. The opening 16 may be configured such that the flange 19 extends partially out of the housing 10. Four hooks 20 are formed in the flange 19, equi-spaced therearound, but only one hook 20 is visible in FIGS. 1 to 3 and only two hooks 20 are shown in FIG. 5. Despite this, a practical embodiment of the winding device advantageously has four such hooks 20, in order that one of those hooks 20 is always readily accessible through the opening 16 in the housing 10. All or only part of the periphery of the flange may be knurled so as to assist with rotation of the spool 17.

[0034] A separator 21, 22 projects radially from the housing 10, adjacent the opening 16, and serves to separate and guide the two parts of a looped cable engaged with the hook 20, with one part to each side of the flange 19. Two embodiments of separator are shown in the diagrams. A first embodiment of separator 21 is shown in FIG. 3 and this includes a central blade 23 which is arranged to lie adjacent a periphery of the flange 19 in a very close relationship whilst being sufficiently spaced from the flange 19 so as to permit rotation thereof. FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 to 8 show a second embodiment of separator 22 also including a central blade 23 but which has a slot 24 formed therein into which a periphery of the flange 19 is received in a non-engaging manner. In both embodiments, the separator 21, 22 defines a pair of openings 25 one each side of the flange 19 to allow sufficient clearance either side of the flange 19 for entry of the cable into the opening 16 in the housing. This may assist in the control of the cable as it is drawn into the device as well as for dividing the cable.

[0035] Referring now to FIGS. 4 to 7, the internal arrangement of the winding device will now be described. The spool 17 has a cylindrical wall 26 around which the headphone cable is wound when the device is in use. Internally of that wall, there is a circular plate 27 extending in a radial plane and having a central circular aperture 28. The flange 19 is co-planar with that plate 27 and extends radially outwardly from the cylindrical wall 26. The plate 27 and flange 19 are disposed midway between the axial ends of the cylindrical wall 26, such that the winding surface 18 of the spool 17 to each side of the flange 19 have the same axial length.

[0036] As best seen in FIG. 6, the flange 19 has a pair of cable hooks 20, though as mentioned above four such hooks 20 may be equi-spaced around the flange 19. Each hook 20 has a first part 29 extending from the outer periphery of the flange 19 in a generally inward radial direction and a second part 30 which extends at an obtuse angle to the first part 29 so as to extend partially in a circumferential direction. A thin opening 31 and slot 32 are formed through the cylindrical wall 26 of the spool 17 for a purpose to be described below.

[0037] The lower housing part defining the lower end face 12 and side wall 13 includes an inwardly projecting hollow boss 33 having a hollow stub 34 of reduced diameter remote from the lower end face 12, with a shoulder 35 formed between the boss 33 and stub 34. The spool 17 is rotatably mounted on the stub 34 with an anti-friction washer 36 located on the stub 34 and bearing against the shoulder 35. A flat spirally-wound spring 37 has its outer end 38 extend into the thin opening 31 in the cylindrical wall 26 over the outer surface and hooked into the slot 32 and its inner end 39 hooked into a slit 40 in the stub 34. Rotation of the spool 17 in a counter-clockwise sense (in FIG. 6) tensions the flat spring 37. Once tensioned, the spool 17 must be restrained to prevent the spring 37 releasing its tension until a cable is to be wound on the spool 17. When released, the action of the spring 37 will turn the spool 17 in a clockwise sense.

[0038] A diametral slot 41 is formed in the stub 34 and extends into the boss 33 from the shoulder 35 towards the lower end face 12. Slidably mounted in the bore of the stub 34 and boss 33 is a release member 42 in the form of a shaft 43 having, at one end, a connector 44 arranged to secure to the underside of a release button 45 and, at the other (lower) end, a pair of opposed pegs 46. The pegs 46 locate in the slot 41 in the boss 33 when the housing is assembled, the button 45 then sits within a hole 47 formed in the upper end face 11 of the housing. The button 45 is recessed in the hole 47 to minimise accidental operation. A helical coil spring 48 is located in the hollow boss 33 and urges the release member 42 upwardly (in FIG. 7) and so towards the upper end face 11.

[0039] The underside of the plate 23 (in FIGS. 5 and 6) of the spool 17 is provided with a series of teeth 49 around the aperture 24, only two of which teeth 49 are shown diagrammatically in FIG. 6. Those teeth 49 are of saw-toothed profile and are engaged by the pegs 46 of the release member 42 to restrain rotation of the spool 17, until the button 45 is depressed against the action of the spring 48. This moves the release member 42 towards the lower end face 12 so that the pegs 46 come free of the teeth 49 and allow the spool 17 to rotate under the action of the flat spiral spring 37. Further to minimise tangling of the cable, a cylindrical annular plate washer 50 may be located between the lower housing part and the internal components and/or between the upper housing part and the internal components, the washer 50 being rotatable with respect to the spool 17.

[0040] In another embodiment (not shown), the size of the device could be reduced by enabling the upper and lower parts of the housing to connect to each other telescopically. In this arrangement movement of the parts towards each other can be used effectively to replace the function of the button and to wind the cable on to the spool.

[0041] To use the device, the flat spring 37 must first be charged, unless it is already under tension. Charging is achieved by a user pressing a finger inserted through the opening 16 on to the flange 19 and effect rotation of the spool 17 in a counter-clockwise sense, in FIGS. 1 and 6. In the course of this rotation, the pegs 46 automatically click over the teeth 49 of saw-tooth profile but the pegs 46 prevent rotation of the spool 17 in the opposite sense.

[0042] A window 51 may be provided adjacent the opening 16 or separator 21, 22 to enable the mechanics of the device to be seen or for part of the cable to project. The window 51 could be provided by a section of transparent material or simply an opening in the housing. More than one window may be provided around the side wall 13 of the device.

[0043] A headphone cable is wound on to the spool 17 by forming a simple U-shaped loop in the cable approximately half-way therealong and then connecting that loop to an exposed hook 20 of the flange 19 and accessible through the opening 16. Then, the release button 45 is depressed and the cable winds on to the spool 17, with one part of the cable to one side of the flange 19 and the other part of the cable to the other side of the flange. By maintaining separate the two parts of the cable in this way, the likelihood of binding turns on the spool 17 or otherwise cable jamming is greatly reduced. The user may of course control the re-winding by lightly gripping the cable.

[0044] When the headphones are to be used, the cable is pulled out of the opening, so rotating the spool 17 in the same sense as was done with a finger, inserted through the opening 16. The cable may be fully unwound and removed from the spool 17, or if more convenient at least some of the cable may be left on the spool. Re-winding of the cable is achieved by depressing the button 45 to release the spool 17, so long as tension remains in the spring 37 but if the tension has been lost for example by accidental depression of the button 45 when the cable was fully disconnected from the spool, the spring may be re-tensioned as has been described above.

[0045] FIG. 8 shows a headphone cable fully wound on the spool with the ear bud units and the jack-plug hanging freely from the ends of the respective cable parts.