Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01K—ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; AVICULTURE; APICULTURE; PISCICULTURE; FISHING; REARING OR BREEDING ANIMALS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NEW BREEDS OF ANIMALS
  • A01K27/00—Leads or collars, e.g. for dogs
  • A01K27/003—Leads, leashes
  • A01K27/004—Retractable leashes

Definitions

• This invention concerns a perfected device for controlled automatic braking in ' particular for the cord of a leash with automatic winder. More in particular, this invention refers to an automatic braking device for a wind-up leash suitable for controlling pets while walking them.
• a drawback that has not yet been overcome concerns the rapid rewinding of the cord which, in certain cases, can be dangerous for the user who may be exposed to "whiplash” blows of the spring clip which may accidentally become unhooked from the pet's collar.
• the aim of the present invention is to provide a perfected braking device which eliminates or significantly reduces the drawbacks mentioned above.
• the present invention also aims to provide a perfected braking device which is easy to produce and thus having a limited production cost so as to be advantageous also from a financial point of view.
• a further aim of the present invention is to provide a leash which can be easily applied to any type of collar.
• the perfected device for controlled automatic braking comprises a wind-up leash consisting of a casing designed to contain at least one reel, equipped with means of rotational elastic winding and designed to wind up a cord, this cord protruding from the leash and presenting means for hooking it onto a collar or the like at its free end.
• the device presents a lever, one arm of which is equipped with elastic loading means designed to press against the cord while the opposite arm is equipped with a trigger protruding from the casing and designed to activate the lever from the outside.
• the elastic loading means of the lever arm presents portions with different coefficients of elasticity.
• the end of the lever arm in contact with the wound-up cord is advantageously equipped with a pad to ensure that the cord is not completely wound onto the reel, leaving a minimum portion of cord protruding from the casing.
• the pad can block or release the rotation of the reel by means of direct control from the outside by activating the trigger.
• the end of the lever arm can be fitted with a roller designed to reduce the abrasion of the cord due to friction of the pad.
• the device includes a clamp guided inside an appropriate guide in the casing of the leash.
• one end of the clamp comprises an arm, which may be hinged to this end, equipped with a. pad or roller designed to interact with the cord wound on the reel.
• the other end of the clamp protrudes from the casing of the leash and is equipped with a manually activated slider.
• This clamp is permanently stimulated by an appropriate spring, which may be an integral part of the clamp or fixed to it, in such a way that the pad or roller comes into contact with the cord.
• the clamp or the lever can be equipped with a coupling retainer which makes it possible to exclude the activation of the braking device, which otherwise acts automatically and independently of the user's manual action.
• both the clamp and the lever can be part of a more complex mechanism designed to ensure blocking and releasing of the cord in different positions and controlled end-of-travel braking with different decelerations that can be controlled by the user.
• the leash can comprise a device inside the casing to detect the extent to • which the cord is wound onto the reel and an indicator which informs the user of the immediate condition of use.
• figure 1 shows a side elevation, in cross section, of a leash equipped with a braking device according to the invention
• figure 2 shows an enlarged cross-section along the line II-II in figure 1
• figure 3 is a cross-section, similar to figure 2, according to another form of embodiment
• figure 4 shows a view similar to figure 1 according to another form of embodiment.
• the reference number 10 generally indicates a wind-up leash, in the case in question a leash for pets equipped with a controlled automatic braking device 11.
• the leash 10 comprises a casing 12 consisting of two shells 13 fixed together by means of screws and enclosing an internal space designed to house a reel 14 on which a cord or strap is wound 15.
• An internal portion of the reel 14 is equipped with a rotation elastic return means, for example a spiral spring 20, one end of which is fixed to the reel 14 while the other end is fixed to the shell 13 near the pin 19.
• a rotation elastic return means for example a spiral spring 20, one end of which is fixed to the reel 14 while the other end is fixed to the shell 13 near the pin 19.
• the reel 14 is equipped with a series of angled radial projections 21, equally spaced around its outer edge, each having a respective surface 22 designed to strike against a temporary retainer as described in detail below.
• the rocker arm 24 presents a slot 26 which houses the pin 23 and is larger than the pin so that it can not only swivel around the pin 23 but also move backwards and forward with respect to the pin.
• the rocker arm 24 has one end 27, facing the handgrip 16, integral with a pushbutton 28 protruding from the casing 12 in such a way that it can be activated by the user.
• the rocker arm 24 can also be equipped with an arm 29 designed to temporarily engage in a respective slit 30 in the shell 13 in order to block the pushbutton 28 to prevent accidental elongation or shortening of the cord
• Shifting of the pushbutton 28 moves the end 25 of the rocker arm against the projection 21 and the end of the arm 29 into the slit 30; this makes it possible to block the cord without the need for any further manual action.
• the rocker arm 24 can be equipped with additional mechanisms, according to background art, aimed at achieving shock-absorbed braking of the reel 14 and consequent control of both the exit and the return of the cord 15 in the casing 12.
• the controlled automatic braking device 11 is located in the lower part of the casing 12 and comprises a lever
• the elastic loading means can consist of a projection 34 integral with the arm 33 and curved, in a contrasting direction to the rotation of the reel 14 for the unwinding of the cord 15, towards the outer edge of the casing 12 to strike the shell 13.
• the arm 33 can present a pad 35 which, due to the elastic effect of the projection 34, presses against the cord 15 wound around the reel 14.
• the projection 34 of the arm 33 can present portions with different coefficients of elasticity in order to ensure a pressing action which gradually increases in relation to the length of the cord 15 wound around the reel 14. In this way the reel 14 is braked with a shock- absorbing effect allowing rewinding control by means of the external trigger 36.
• the pad 35 also ensures that the cord 15 is not completely rewound onto the reel 14 so that a minimum portion of the cord 15 is left protruding from the leash.
• the pad 35 can immediately block or release the rotation of the reel 14 again by means of direct control from the outside by activating the trigger 36.
• the arm 33 of the lever 31 can be equipped, as an alternative to the pad 35, with a roller 38 designed to reduce the abrasion of the cord 15 due to the friction of the pad 35.
• the projection 34 can be curved in the same direction as the rotation of the reel 14 for the unwinding of the cord 15, thus considerably reducing the wear of the cord 15 with a slightly lesser braking action.
• the lever 31 can be part of a more complex mechanism designed to guarantee simultaneous blocking and releasing of the cord 15 in different positions as well as controlled end-of-travel braking with different decelerations that can be controlled by the user.
• the leash 10 can comprise a device, inside the casing 12, to detect the extent to which the cord 15 is wound onto the reel 14 and an indicator which informs the user of the immediate condition of use.
• the controlled automatic braking device 11 Thanks to the controlled automatic braking device 11, the user runs no risk of the rapid return of the cord 15 with consequent "whiplash" of the spring clip attached to its end.
• the casing and the various ' parts of the leash 10 can be made from composite plastic material and/or metal.
• the device comprises a clamp guided inside an appropriate guide in the casing of the leash.
• one end of the clamp comprises an arm, which may be hinged to this end, equipped with a pad or roller designed to interact with the cord wound on the reel.
• the other end of the clamp protrudes from the casing of the leash and is equipped with a manually activated slider.
• This clamp is permanently stimulated by an appropriate spring, which may be an integral part of the clamp or fixed to it, in such a way that the pad or roller comes into contact with the cord.
• the clamp or the lever can be equipped with a coupling retainer which makes it possible to exclude the activation of the braking device, which otherwise acts automatically and independently of the user's manual action.

Landscapes

• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Environmental Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Husbandry (AREA)
• Biodiversity & Conservation Biology (AREA)
• Storing, Repeated Paying-Out, And Re-Storing Of Elongated Articles (AREA)
• Braking Arrangements (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=11462053

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (2)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 2001
  • 2001-07-17 IT ITVR20010075 patent/ITVR20010075A1/it unknown
• 2002
  • 2002-07-16 WO PCT/IT2002/000463 patent/WO2003007703A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2002-07-16 EP EP02765324A patent/EP1408741A1/en not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (2)

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