Automatic Strap Retractor Tensioner

Abstract

An automatic strap retractor tensioner comprises a winding assembly (winding rod, coupling shaft with first/second coupling gears; the third contact surface of the first gear engages the first contact surface of the winding rod for motion transmission), a tightening assembly (tightening body with slidably mounted first stop plate at inner mid-portion, rotatably coupled to the winding rod and equipped with a protective rubber handle), a braking assembly (brake body with rotatably mounted first brake plate at inner bottom and slidably mounted second brake plate at inner middle), and a take-up assembly (on the brake bodys side, housing a coil spring connected to the winding rods second contact surface for strap retraction). Their coordinated action reduces excess strap, enables controllable retraction speed, and enhances safety and usability.

Claims

1. An automatic strap retractor tensioner comprising: a winding assembly including a winding rod, a coupling shaft disposed on the winding rod, a first coupling gear coupled to a first end of the coupling shaft, and a second coupling gear coupled to an opposite end of the coupling shaft, the winding rod having at one end a first contact surface and a second contact surface disposed outward of the first contact surface, and the first coupling gear including a third contact surface at a central location that contacts the first contact surface to transmit motion; a tightening assembly including a tightening body and a first stop plate slidably coupled along an inner circumferential wall of a midportion of the tightening body, the tightening body having a first end rotatably connected to the winding rod and an opposite end provided with a protective rubber handle; a braking assembly including a brake body, a first brake plate rotatably connected along an inner bottom circumferential wall at one end of the brake body, and a second brake plate slidably coupled along an inner middle circumferential wall at one end of the brake body; and a takeup assembly connected to a side of the brake body and housing a coil spring, the second contact surface of the winding rod being connected to the coil spring within the takeup assembly.

2. The automatic strap retractor tensioner of claim 1, wherein opposite ends of the coupling shaft respectively include three sectorshaped protruding interfaces, and surfaces of the second coupling gear and the first coupling gear respectively include three sectorshaped recesses configured to mate with the sectorshaped protruding interfaces.

3. The automatic strap retractor tensioner of claim 2, wherein a first protective sleeve is disposed on an outer side of the first coupling gear, and a second protective sleeve is disposed on an outer side of the second coupling gear.

4. The automatic strap retractor tensioner of claim 1, wherein opposite sides of one end of the tightening body respectively include a first engagement plate and a second engagement plate, a spring is provided at a rear end of the first stop plate, and a first rubber sleeve is mounted on the first stop plate such that pressing the first rubber sleeve drives the first stop plate to move.

5. The automatic strap retractor tensioner of claim 1, wherein a retaining ring is disposed below the first brake plate and a retaining ring is disposed above the second brake plate, a second rubber sleeve is mounted at a top end of the first brake plate, and brake fold plates are connected to both sides of a bottom end of the first brake plate.

6. The automatic strap retractor tensioner of claim 1, further comprising a strap disposed on the winding rod.

7. The automatic strap retractor tensioner of claim 6, wherein the second brake plate is configured to limit movement of the strap on the winding rod.

8. The automatic strap retractor tensioner of claim 1, wherein the tightening body is a concave plateshaped structure.

9. The automatic strap retractor tensioner of claim 3, wherein the first protective sleeve covers a junction between the first coupling gear and a first end of the coupling shaft, and the second protective sleeve covers a junction between the second coupling gear and an opposite end of the coupling shaft.

10. The automatic strap retractor tensioner of claim 5, wherein the second rubber sleeve is configured to facilitate manual pressing of the first brake plate.

11. The automatic strap retractor tensioner of claim 4, wherein pressing the first rubber sleeve opens the first stop plate and shifts the tightening assembly to an expanded position.

12. The automatic strap retractor tensioner of claim 11, wherein moving the tightening assembly to the expanded position presents a larger effective contact surface on the tightening body against the second brake plate to open the second brake plate.

13. The automatic strap retractor tensioner of claim 6, wherein with the tightening assembly in a tightened position, reciprocating the tightening assembly rotates the first coupling gear and the second coupling gear to shorten an exposed length of the strap.

14. The automatic strap retractor tensioner of claim 6, wherein releasing the first brake plate and the second brake plate allows a coil spring within the takeup assembly to rewind the strap for retrieval.

15. The automatic strap retractor tensioner of claim 5, wherein a retaining ring below the first brake plate and a retaining ring above the second brake plate are positioned to respectively secure the first brake plate from below and the second brake plate from above.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0009] To illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments more clearly, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments are briefly introduced below. In the following description, identical reference numerals denote identical components. It is understood that the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings may be obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without inventive effort.

[0010] FIG. 1 is an overall structural schematic view of an embodiment of the automatic strap retractor tensioner.

[0011] FIG. 2 is an external structural schematic view of the takeup assembly in the embodiment.

[0012] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the tightening assembly in the embodiment.

[0013] FIG. 4 is a structural schematic view of the braking assembly in the embodiment.

[0014] FIG. 5 is a structural schematic view of the first brake plate in the embodiment.

[0015] FIG. 6 is a structural schematic view of the tightening assembly in the embodiment.

[0016] FIG. 7 is a side view of the embodiment in an open state.

[0017] FIG. 8 is a side view of the embodiment in a closed state.

[0018] Reference Numerals: winding assembly (1);winding rod (11);first contact surface (111);second contact surface (112);coupling shaft (12);second coupling gear (13);second protective sleeve (14);first coupling gear (15);third contact surface (151);first protective sleeve (16);tightening assembly (2);tightening body (21);protective rubber handle (22);first engagement plate (221);second engagement plate (222);first stop plate (23);first rubber sleeve (24);braking assembly (3);brake body (31);first brake plate (32);brake fold plates (321);second rubber sleeve (33);second brake plate (34);strap (4);takeup assembly (5).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] As used herein, the transitional terms comprises, comprising, includes, including, has, and having are open and inclusive, and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or steps. Unless stated otherwise, the indefinite articles a and an (and phrases such as at least one) mean one or more, and the singular includes the plural where the context permits.

[0020] Certain example embodiments are described and shown in the drawings to illustrate the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Other embodiments, modifications, combinations, and improvements apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art are within the scope defined by the claims.

[0021] While various embodiments and use cases are discussed, the invention encompasses many applicable concepts that may be implemented in different contexts. The specific embodiments described are merely illustrative examples of making and using the invention and do not delimit the scope of the claims.

[0022] Terms are used as understood by those of ordinary skill in the relevant art unless expressly defined herein. The use of a, an, and the does not imply restriction to a single item unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, and examples introduced by for example are illustrative and not limiting.

[0023] Terms such as can, may, might, and the like indicate that a feature is optional in certain embodiments and absent in others, unless the context dictates otherwise. Such conditional language is not intended to require decision logic or performance in any particular embodiment.

[0024] The technical solutions of exemplary embodiments are described with reference to the drawings. These embodiments represent only part of the possible implementations and are not exhaustive; variations achievable without inventive effort by a person of ordinary skill fall within the scope of protection as defined by the claims.

[0025] The automatic strap retractor tensioner includes a winding assembly, a tightening assembly, a braking assembly, and a takeup assembly, with reference numerals used consistently across the figures for clarity. The arrangement enables controlled strap release and retrieval by coordinating motion transmission via contact surfaces on a winding rod and a gear, selective braking, and springbiased takeup.

[0026] The winding assembly (1) includes a winding rod (11) and a coupling shaft (12) disposed on the winding rod (11), with a first coupling gear (15) at one end of the coupling shaft (12) and a second coupling gear (13) at the opposite end. One end of the winding rod (11) has a first contact surface (111) and a second contact surface (112) located outward of the first contact surface (111); a third contact surface (151) is formed at a central location of the first coupling gear (15) and contacts the first contact surface (111) to transmit motion.

[0027] The tightening assembly (2) includes a tightening body (21) and a first stop plate (23) slidably mounted along an inner circumferential midportion of the tightening body (21). The tightening body (21) is a concave plateshaped structure with one end rotatably coupled to the winding rod (11) and an opposite end provided with a protective rubber handle (22).

[0028] The braking assembly (3) includes a brake body (31), a first brake plate (32) rotatably connected along an inner bottom region at one end of the brake body (31), and a second brake plate (34) slidably connected along an inner middle region at one end. The second brake plate (34) is configured to limit movement of a strap (4) on the winding rod (11) during release and tightening.

[0029] A takeup assembly (5) is coupled to a side of the brake body (31) and houses a coil spring connected to the second contact surface (112) of the winding rod (11). During strap release, the spring stores energy within the takeup assembly (5), and when the stop and brake plates are opened, the spring drives rewinding to recover the strap (4).

[0030] At both ends of the coupling shaft (12), three sectorshaped protruding interfaces are provided; surfaces of the second coupling gear (13) and the first coupling gear (15) are each formed with three sectorshaped recesses that mate with the protruding interfaces. A first protective sleeve (16) is disposed outward of the first coupling gear (15), and a second protective sleeve (14) is disposed outward of the second coupling gear (13) to protect their respective junctions with the coupling shaft (12).

[0031] On one end of the tightening body (21), opposite sides respectively carry a first engagement plate (221) and a second engagement plate (222). A spring is arranged at the rear end of the first stop plate (23), and a first rubber sleeve (24) mounted on the first stop plate (23) enables pressing to drive the first stop plate (23) to move.

[0032] Below the first brake plate (32) and above the second brake plate (34), retaining rings are respectively provided to establish positional restraint. A second rubber sleeve (33) is mounted at a top end of the first brake plate (32) to facilitate manual pressing, and brake fold plates (321) are connected to both sides of a bottom end of the first brake plate (32).

[0033] Operation: deploy, tighten, rewind

[0034] Deployment and release: Press the first rubber sleeve (24) to open the first stop plate (23) and push the tightening assembly (2) to an expanded position; in this state, the tightening body (21) presents a largerdiameter effective contact surface to open the second brake plate (34) and allow strap (4) release while the gears (15), (13) are controlled by the first brake plate (32). The brake fold plates (321) bend to apply frictional control so that manual pullout is permitted while spring force alone cannot rewind the strap (4).

[0035] Tightening: After pulling the strap (4) to the required length, press the first rubber sleeve (24) again to open the first stop plate (23) and push the tightening assembly (2) to a tightened position; reciprocating the tightening assembly (2) rotates the first and second coupling gears (15), (13) to retract gearcoupled portions within the coupling shaft (12), shortening the exposed strap (4) to tighten the load.

[0036] Rewinding: To stow the strap after use, return the tightening assembly (2) to the expanded position, open the first stop plate (23) and the second brake plate (34), and press the second rubber sleeve (33) to open the first brake plate (32) so that the coil spring drives the gears to rewind the strap (4); pressing force applied to the first brake plate (32) can regulate and stop the straps rewind speed.

[0037] Combinability and scope

[0038] The embodiments are illustrative and nonlimiting, and other specific forms may be implemented without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the invention. The scope is defined by the claims, and combinations of technical solutions from different embodiments may be adopted as appropriate.

[0039] If preferred, this text can be integrated directly into the Detailed Description section of the U.S. application with the same figure numbering and reference numerals to keep terminology and support aligned to the CN filing.

[0040] In the foregoing embodiments, different aspects may be emphasized for clarity. Features not expressly detailed in one embodiment may be understood with reference to the descriptions of other embodiments.

[0041] Directional terms such as upper, lower, left, right, front, and rear describe relative positions or movements of components in the orientation shown in the figures. If the orientation changes, the directional descriptions are to be construed accordingly.

[0042] Unless stated otherwise, when an element is described as being fixed to, disposed on, mounted to, coupled to, or connected to another element, the relationship may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediate elements.

[0043] References to first, second, and the like are used solely to distinguish items and do not indicate relative importance, order, or a required quantity. A feature identified as first or second may include one or more such features unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Combinations of features from different embodiments may be implemented when technologically feasible to a person of ordinary skill in the art; combinations that would create contradictions or are not feasible are not contemplated.

[0044] The foregoing description relates to illustrative embodiments and is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention. Equivalent structural modifications or transformations based on the teachings and drawings, whether applied directly or indirectly to related technical fields, are intended to fall within the scope of the claims.