JP7338856B2 - Long body winding device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a long body winding device such as a tape measure.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a long body winding device used for measuring length at a construction site or the like. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a reel (drum) for rewinding a measuring tape (long body), a left and right split case for housing the reel, and a spiral spring fixed to the center of the case. A strip winding device is disclosed that includes a spring winding core stud (spring post) that locks the inner end.

In the long body winding device of Patent Document 1, the spring winding core stud is made of a rigid material such as a metal or a glass fiber reinforced polyacetal resin molding that is separate from the case half. , the required thickness can be relaxed and the thickness can be reduced, and by firmly embedding and fixing by insert molding, it is possible to achieve firm spring engagement and coupling of the case halves.

JP-A-7-294203

However, in the long body winding device as described above, since the central axis of the drum housed inside the case and the central axis of the spring column are arranged so as to be coaxial, the arrangement of parts inside the case is is constrained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a winding device for a long object that is less restricted in the arrangement of parts inside the case.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems.
a case having a drum accommodating portion that accommodates the drum;
a spiral spring disposed inside the case for winding the drum when the elongated body is extended;
a spring column that holds the spiral spring inside the case,
the central axis of the spring column is eccentric with respect to the central axis of the drum,
The spring column is provided eccentrically with respect to the central axis of the drum accommodating portion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems.
a case having a drum accommodating portion that accommodates the drum;
a spiral spring disposed inside the case for winding the drum when the elongated body is extended;
a spring column that holds the spiral spring inside the case,
the central axis of the spring column is eccentric with respect to the central axis of the drum,
The inner surface of the case is provided with a shaft-shaped projection corresponding to the bearing recess formed on the drum, and the central axis of the spring column is eccentric with respect to the central axis of the shaft-shaped projection. It is characterized by

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the winding device for a long object which has few restrictions of the components arrangement inside a case.

1 is a perspective view showing a long body winding device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view partially showing a cross section of a case, a drum, and a spring column of the long body winding device shown in FIG. 1 ; 2 is a perspective view of the long body winding device shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the opposite side; FIG. 2 is a side view showing the positional relationship between a shaft-like projection and a spring column of the long body winding device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the positional relationship among the case, drum, spiral spring, and spring column of the long object winding device shown in FIG. 1;

Embodiments of the present invention will be exemplified below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing an outline of a tape measure 1 (long body winding device) as one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship of the drum 10, the case 20, the spiral spring 30, and the spring column 40, partly in cross section.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tape measure 1 consists of a drum 10 around which a measuring tape 11 as a long body is unwound, a case 20 having a drum accommodating portion S for accommodating the drum 10, and the case 20. A spiral spring 30 arranged inside to rewind the drum 10 and a spring column 40 holding the spiral spring 30 inside the case 20 are provided.

Here, axis A indicates the central axis of drum 10 . In this example, the central axis of the drum 10 coincides with the central axis of the drum accommodating portion S and the shaft-like protrusion 23 formed in the case 20 . It should be noted that the central axis of the drum 10 does not necessarily have to coincide with the central axes of the drum accommodating portion S and the shaft-shaped convex portion 23 . Axis B indicates the central axis of the spring column 40 . The central axis (axis B) of the spring column 40 is eccentric with respect to the central axis (axis A) of the drum 10 . The central axis (axis B) of the spring column 40 extends parallel to the central axis (axis A) of the drum 10 .

The drum 10 includes a cylindrical peripheral wall 12 and side walls 13 and 14 provided at both ends of the peripheral wall 12, respectively. The side walls 13 and 14 are made of circular plates having a diameter larger than that of the peripheral wall 12, and circular through holes 15 and 16 as bearing recesses are formed in the central portions thereof. The centers of the through holes 15 and 16 are positioned on the central axis (axis A) of the drum 10 . A long strip-shaped measuring tape 11 is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 12 so as to be able to be drawn out. A flat spiral spring 30 is arranged radially inside the peripheral wall 12 .

The case 20 has a left half portion 21 and a right half portion 22 that can be divided into left and right. In this example, a columnar shaft-shaped projection 23 is provided on the inner surface of the left half portion 21 . A spring column 40 is fixed to the shaft-like projection 23 . The shaft-shaped projection 23 is provided on the inner surface of the case 20 so that its central axis coincides with the central axis (axis A) of the drum housing portion S. As shown in FIG. The shaft-shaped protrusion 23 is fitted in the through hole 15 as a bearing recess and functions as a rotation shaft when the drum 10 rotates. In this example, the shaft-shaped projection 23 having the same shape as the shaft-shaped projection 23 of the left half 21 is also provided on the inner surface of the right half 22 . As a result, the shaft-shaped projections 23 are fitted into the left and right through holes 15 and 16 of the drum 10, respectively, so that the drum 10 can be evenly supported from both left and right sides.

A drum accommodating portion S for accommodating the drum 10 is defined inside the case 20 . The inner surface shape of the case 20 forming the drum housing portion S corresponds to the outer shape of the drum 10 . In this example, an arc-shaped inner surface region 24 corresponding to the shape of the outer peripheral edge of the side walls 13 and 14 of the drum 10 is formed in the upper part of the case 20, and the center of curvature of the arc-shaped inner surface region 24 is aligned with the axis A located above. Accordingly, when the drum 10 is placed in the drum housing portion S of the case 20 , the outer peripheral edge of the drum 10 is placed along the arcuate inner surface region 24 .

The tape measure 1 of this example has a lock button 25 for switching the drum 10 to be rotatable or non-rotatable. This lock button 25 is slidable along a window hole 26 provided on the front side of the case 20 . By sliding the lock button 25 upward, the drum 10 can be rotated, and by sliding it downward, the rotation of the drum 10 can be disabled. As a result, the pull-out length of the measuring tape 11 to be pulled out can be kept constant and the pulled-out measuring tape 11 can be easily accommodated.

The spiral spring 30 is a long strip-shaped plate spring wound in a spiral shape, and the measuring tape 11 is fed out by using the unwinding torque (restoring force) when trying to return to the spiral shape. The drum 10 can be rewound to the initial state. The spiral spring 30 is arranged on the inner peripheral side (diametrically inner side) of the peripheral wall 12 of the drum 10 and on the outer peripheral side (diametrically outer side) of the spring column 40 . One end in the longitudinal direction of the spiral spring 30 (the end located on the outer peripheral side) is fixed to the peripheral wall 12 of the drum 10, and the other end (the end located on the inner peripheral side) is held by the spring column 40. (fixed). Since the spring column 40 is fixed to the case 20 , the inner peripheral end of the spiral spring 30 is also held so as not to rotate with respect to the case 20 . The spiral spring 30 can be held on the spring column 40 by, for example, inserting the end portion on the inner peripheral side into a slit-shaped groove 43 provided on the spring column 40 to engage the spiral spring 30 .

The spring column 40 has a fixing portion 41 provided at the base end portion and a shaft portion 42 linearly protruding from the fixing portion 41 . The fixed portion 41 is a portion embedded in the case 20 and is not particularly limited in shape. The fixing portion 41 has a larger outer shape than the shaft portion 42 . The fixed portion 41 is preferably not circular but non-circular such as an ellipse or a polygon. can be done. The shaft portion 42 has a tubular or columnar configuration extending straight (linearly) along the axis B. As shown in FIG. Although the shaft portion 42 in this example is cylindrical, it is not limited to this, and the shape of the shaft portion 42 can be changed as appropriate. The shaft portion 42 of this example has a slit-shaped groove 43 extending along the axis B from the tip portion of the shaft portion 42 . The slit-shaped grooves 43 are formed at two locations facing each other across the axis B in the circumferential direction. Note that the slit-shaped groove 43 is not an essential configuration.

The spring column 40 may be made of metal or synthetic resin. The spring column 40 can be made of aluminum, for example. The spring column 40 can be formed integrally with the case 20 by insert molding in which the spring column 40 is arranged as an insert material in a mold when the synthetic resin case 20 is injection molded. In addition, although the spring column 40 in this example is fixed to the left half portion 21 of the case 20 , it may be fixed to the right half portion 22 .

The tip of the spring column 40 is configured to allow the screw 28 to be tightened, and in this example, a female thread is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the tip. As a result, a bracket 27, belt clip, or the like for engaging and holding the waist belt of the user as shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, a bracket 27 is arranged on the outer surface of the right half portion 22 of the case 20, and a screw 28 is inserted from the outside so as to pass through the bracket 27 and the right half portion 22 of the case 20. By screwing onto the tip of the spring column 40 , the tip of the spring column 40 can be fixed to the case 20 while fixing the bracket 27 to the case 20 . When the tip of the spring column 40 is fixed to the case 20 with the screw 28 in this way, the stability of the spring column 40 can be enhanced. The bracket 27 can be, for example, detachable from a holder that is attached to the user's waist belt in advance. With such a configuration, the tape measure 1 can be easily attached to a user's waist belt or the like and carried. In this example, the bracket 27 or the belt clip is attached only to one side of the case 20 (the right half 22 side). or the like, or may be configured to attach brackets 27 or belt clips to both the left and right sides. When brackets 27 or belt clips are attached to both the left and right sides, the user can select the mounting direction with respect to the belt depending on whether the user is right-handed or left-handed, which improves convenience. When attaching the bracket 27 or belt clip to the case 20, the screw 28 may be fastened to the spring column 40 as in this example, or the screw 28 may be screwed to a portion other than the spring column 40 (case 20, etc.). You may make it conclude. Alternatively, the bracket 27 or belt clip or the like may be attached to the case 20 by a method other than fasteners such as screws 28 .

As shown in FIG. 4, the central axis (axis B) of the spring column 40 in this example is eccentric (displaced) upward with respect to the central axis (axis A) of the drum 10, but this is not the only option. Instead, the positional relationship between the drum 10 and the spring column 40 can be changed as appropriate. For example, the central axis (axis B) of the spring column 40 may be eccentric downward, laterally, or obliquely with respect to the central axis (axis A) of the drum 10 .

As described above, in the tape measure 1 of this embodiment, the central axis (axis B) of the spring column 40 is eccentric with respect to the central axis (axis A) of the drum 10 . With such a configuration, there are fewer restrictions on the arrangement of the parts provided inside the case 20, making it easier to arrange the parts at optimum positions. Further, in the tape measure 1 of the present embodiment, since it is not necessary to align the central axis (axis B) of the spring column 40 with the central axis (axis A) of the drum 10, restrictions on the external design are reduced. The degree of freedom in exterior design can be improved.

Further, in the tape measure 1 of the present embodiment, it is preferable that the central axis (axis B) of the spring column 40 is eccentric with respect to the central axis (axis A) of the drum accommodating portion S. With such a configuration, it is possible to further reduce restrictions on the arrangement of parts inside the case 20 and the appearance design.

Here, in the tape measure 1 of the present embodiment, the fixing portion 41 of the spring column 40 is embedded in the shaft-like protrusion 23 of the case 20, and the outer shape (maximum diameter) of the fixing portion 41 is the shaft-like protrusion. It is smaller than the diameter of the portion 23 . Therefore, the position of the spring column 40 can be changed as appropriate as long as the fixing portion 41 can be accommodated within the shaft-like projection 23 . In order to secure a wide range in which the spring column 40 can be arranged, it is preferable that the diameter of the shaft-like projection 23 is as large as possible, and that the diameter of the fixing portion 41 is as small as possible.

FIG. 5 shows the range in which the spring column 40 can be arranged based on the relationship between the drum 10 and spiral spring 30. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the central axis (axis line B) of the spring column 40 is aligned with the central axis (axis line) of the drum 10 to the extent that the outer peripheral edge of the spiral spring 30 contacts the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 12 of the drum 10 . A) can be eccentric, and within this range, the unwinding torque (restoring force) of the spiral spring 30 is not lowered. The outer shape of the spiral spring 30 shown in FIG. 5 shows a state where the diameter of the spiral spring 30 is minimized (completely wound state).

Further, in the tape measure 1 of the present embodiment, the shaft-shaped protrusion 23 is provided on the inner surface of the case 20, and the central axis (axis line B) of the spring column 40 coincides with the central axis of the shaft-shaped protrusion 23 ( It is eccentric with respect to axis A). With such a configuration, the position of the drum 10 in the case 20 is stabilized, so that the central axis (axis B) of the spring column 40 is easily stabilized in a eccentric state from the central axis (axis A) of the drum 10.

Although the above has been described based on the illustrated examples, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified within the scope of the claims. For example, in the above embodiment, the case 20 is divided into two at the center position in the horizontal direction, but the division position of the case 20 is not limited to the illustrated example, and can be changed as appropriate. Further, the case 20 may not be provided with the lock button 25 for suppressing the rewinding of the measuring tape 11 .

Further, in the previous embodiment, the tape measure 1 as the long body winding device was described as an example. It can be applied to articles other than the tape measure 1 as long as it is.

1: Tape measure (long body winding device)
10: Drum 11: Measure tape (long body)
12: Peripheral walls 13, 14: Side walls 15, 16: Through holes (bearing recesses)
20: Case 21: Left half 22: Right half 23: Shaft-shaped projection 24: Arc-shaped inner surface region 25: Lock button 26: Window hole 27: Bracket 28: Screw 30: Clockwork spring 40: Spring column 41: Fixed Portion 42: Shaft portion 43: Groove A: Axis (central axis of drum)
B: Axis (central axis of spring column)
S: Drum housing

Claims (2)

a drum around which the elongated body can be extended;
a case having a drum accommodating portion that accommodates the drum;
a spiral spring disposed inside the case for winding the drum when the elongated body is extended;
a spring column that holds the spiral spring inside the case,
the central axis of the spring column is eccentric with respect to the central axis of the drum,
The long body winding device, wherein the spring column is provided eccentrically with respect to the central axis of the drum accommodating portion. a drum around which the elongated body can be extended;
a case having a drum accommodating portion that accommodates the drum;
a spiral spring disposed inside the case for winding the drum when the elongated body is extended;
a spring column that holds the spiral spring inside the case,
the central axis of the spring column is eccentric with respect to the central axis of the drum,
The inner surface of the case is provided with a shaft-shaped projection corresponding to the bearing recess formed on the drum, and the central axis of the spring column is eccentric with respect to the central axis of the shaft-shaped projection. A long body winding device characterized by :

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