US20060243845A1 - Wire-winding device for earphones, especially hands free kits for mobile phones - Google Patents
Wire-winding device for earphones, especially hands free kits for mobile phones Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20060243845A1 US20060243845A1 US11/355,734 US35573406A US2006243845A1 US 20060243845 A1 US20060243845 A1 US 20060243845A1 US 35573406 A US35573406 A US 35573406A US 2006243845 A1 US2006243845 A1 US 2006243845A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- wire
- winding
- housing
- earphone
- winding unit
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H75/00—Storing webs, tapes, or filamentary material, e.g. on reels
- B65H75/02—Cores, formers, supports, or holders for coiled, wound, or folded material, e.g. reels, spindles, bobbins, cop tubes, cans, mandrels or chucks
- B65H75/34—Cores, formers, supports, or holders for coiled, wound, or folded material, e.g. reels, spindles, bobbins, cop tubes, cans, mandrels or chucks specially adapted or mounted for storing and repeatedly paying-out and re-storing lengths of material provided for particular purposes, e.g. anchored hoses, power cables
- B65H75/38—Cores, formers, supports, or holders for coiled, wound, or folded material, e.g. reels, spindles, bobbins, cop tubes, cans, mandrels or chucks specially adapted or mounted for storing and repeatedly paying-out and re-storing lengths of material provided for particular purposes, e.g. anchored hoses, power cables involving the use of a core or former internal to, and supporting, a stored package of material
- B65H75/44—Constructional details
- B65H75/4418—Arrangements for stopping winding or unwinding; Arrangements for releasing the stop means
- B65H75/4428—Arrangements for stopping winding or unwinding; Arrangements for releasing the stop means acting on the reel or on a reel blocking mechanism
- B65H75/4434—Arrangements for stopping winding or unwinding; Arrangements for releasing the stop means acting on the reel or on a reel blocking mechanism actuated by pulling on or imparting an inclination to the material
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02G—INSTALLATION OF ELECTRIC CABLES OR LINES, OR OF COMBINED OPTICAL AND ELECTRIC CABLES OR LINES
- H02G11/00—Arrangements of electric cables or lines between relatively-movable parts
- H02G11/02—Arrangements of electric cables or lines between relatively-movable parts using take-up reel or drum
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
- H04M1/15—Protecting or guiding telephone cords
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
- B65H2701/30—Handled filamentary material
- B65H2701/34—Handled filamentary material electric cords or electric power cables
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
- H04M1/60—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers including speech amplifiers
- H04M1/6033—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers including speech amplifiers for providing handsfree use or a loudspeaker mode in telephone sets
- H04M1/6041—Portable telephones adapted for handsfree use
- H04M1/6058—Portable telephones adapted for handsfree use involving the use of a headset accessory device connected to the portable telephone
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a wire-winding device for earphones, especially for a hands free kit for mobile phones.
- a hands free kit for mobile phones usually comprises one or two earphones, a wire with a connector attached to it for connection to the mobile phone and a microphone, usually with clip, which is provided on the wire.
- Comparable earphones are available for a series of other electronic appliances, for example for mobile stereo cassette recorders, mobile CD players, mobile MP3 players and the like, and may include one or two earpieces for insertion into the ear.
- Such earphones enable mobile use of electronic appliances, for example when walking, running, driving a car or working. For all these uses there must be an adequate length of wire available which frequently leads to undesirable tangling of the wire.
- German Utility Model DE 296 21 717 U1 discloses a wire-winding device for the wire of a hands free kit with a housing and a wire winding unit provided within said housing which comprises a pivotable cylindrical wire-winding body for winding up the wire.
- the wire-winding body is pretensioned by means of a torsion or spiral spring in a direction of rotation in which the wire is further wound onto the wire-winding body.
- the wire is permanently attached to the wire-winding device with the result that different wire-winding devices have to be manufactured, stocked and sold for different types of hands free kits. This unnecessarily increases the manufacturing and sales costs. It is also not possible for the same wire-winding device to be used for different electronic appliances, such as a mobile phone and a mobile data play-back appliance.
- wire-winding devices which are designed expressly for specific applications, are disclosed in the following German Patent or Utility Model applications: DE 20 2004 011 010 U1, DE 20 2004 014 202 U1, DE 2004 005 833 U1, DE 298 13 079 U1, DE 202 05 121 U1, DE 201 20 215 U1, DE 201 19 860 U1 and DE 198 47 143 A1.
- Further wire-winding devices predominantly for stationary applications are disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,010, U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,836, U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,815, U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,683 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,623,294 B2 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,389 B2.
- These wire-winding devices are not suitable for joint use with different types of earphones.
- a multi-function wire rewinder is disclosed in German Utility Model DE 20 2004 001 604 U1.
- the lower part of the housing can be combined with functional elements for realizing said different technical functions, especially with USB ports, card readers, sockets, cooling fans, radio transmitters and such like.
- This wire rewinder is not suitable for use for earphones or hands free kits for mobile phones already purchased by the user.
- U.S. Pat. No. 6,803,525 B1 discloses a wire-winding device.
- a wire winding unit In the cylindrical housing a wire winding unit is provided with a cylindrical wire-winding body with an upper and a lower winding flange.
- a torsion spring one end of which is actively joined to the wire-winding body, and the other end of which is actively joined to the housing, is provided for pretensioning of the wire-winding body.
- the wire To assemble the wire-winding device, the wire must first of all be suitably wound and then the torsion spring for pretensioning of the wire-winding body must be suitably hooked in. There is no provision for subsequent replacement of the wire and this is also impossible unless the torsion spring is unhooked. Therefore, the wire-winding device is not suitable for easy replacement of the wire, i.e. for being used for a different earphone.
- the object of the present invention is to provide a wire-winding device for earphones, especially for hands free kits of mobile phones, with which it is possible to replace the earphone or the earphone wire in a simple manner.
- a wire-winding device wherein the wire-winding unit is designed such that the earphone wire can be replaced with the wire-winding body pretensioned or biased.
- the wire-winding device can be used for different types of earphones. In this case replacement can be undertaken by the user himself without the wire-winding unit having to be taken apart and re-assembled after replacement of the wire and/or without the necessity to unhook a torsion spring pretensioning (biasing) the wire-winding body and without the necessity to hook it back in after replacing the wire.
- the wire-winding device according to the invention can therefore be sold as an accessory independently of the earphone itself and replacement or insertion of the earphone wire can be undertaken by the user himself.
- the wire-winding body has a wire clamping area for clamping the earphone wire.
- This clamping area can be formed by a clamping element on the outer circumference of the wire-winding body or more preferably by a channel-type wire guidance area formed by axially protruding walls of the wire-winding body.
- the housing and/or the wire-winding unit is designed such that the earphone wire can be removed from the aforementioned clamping area in a completely unwound rotary position of the wire-winding body and a different earphone wire can be inserted and again be clamped by it.
- the new earphone wire can also be inserted into the clamping area in an essentially stretched form and can be clamped by it.
- a removable cover may be provided on the housing and/or adjustable, especially hinged or pivotable, housing sections can be provided which expose the wire inlet area and the wire outlet area of the wire-winding device for replacement of the earphone wire and conceal it again after replacement so that the wire cannot be removed or fall out unintentionally.
- the wire-winding unit together with the pretensioned wire-winding body is accommodated in the housing so as to be radially displaceable and replacement of the earphone wire is then prevented if the wire-winding unit is completely accommodated within the housing.
- This function can be accomplished by means of appropriate design of elements of the wire-winding unit and the housing, for example in that the wire inlet area and/or wire outlet area, which circumferentially surrounds the incoming wire, is or are formed by the reciprocation of sections of the wire-winding unit and sections of the housing.
- the wire-winding unit together with the pretensioned wire-winding body can be taken out of the housing completely. This enables replacement of the wire with the wire-winding unit removed. It is advantageous if replacement of the wire is not prevented or hampered by sections of the housing.
- a latching mechanism for detachably securing the wire-winding unit in the housing.
- a latching mechanism can be formed by reciprocating latching elements or by a detachable locking mechanism.
- the aforementioned securing function can be exercised by a clip element, expediently under elastic deformation of sections of the housing and/or the wire-winding unit.
- a locking element is also provided for detachably locking the rotary movement of the wire-winding body which may be in discrete or arbitrary rotary positions of the wire-winding body.
- the locking mechanism can be formed by reciprocation of the housing with the wire-winding unit, for example in such a way that a movable locking pawl is provided on the housing and a wheel with latching teeth reciprocating with said locking pawl is provided on the wire-winding body.
- the locking mechanism is formed completely within the wire-winding unit. This makes it easier to completely remove the wire-winding unit with the wire-winding body pretensioned or biased. In this case the locking mechanism conveniently locks the wire-winding body even with the wire-winding unit in the removed state.
- the wire-winding unit includes a torsion spring for pretensioning the wire-winding body, one end of which is actively joined to a floor of the wire-winding unit and the other end of which is actively joined to the wire-winding body.
- a torsion spring for pretensioning the wire-winding body, one end of which is actively joined to a floor of the wire-winding unit and the other end of which is actively joined to the wire-winding body.
- FIG. 1 shows a perspective exploded view of a wire-winding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention
- FIGS. 2 a - 2 b show a top view, a perspective top view, a bottom view and a side view of the wire-winding device according to FIG. 1 ;
- FIGS. 3 a - 3 c show a top view, a bottom view and a perspective top view of the base of the wire-winding unit according to FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 4 shows a perspective exploded view of a wire-winding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention
- FIGS. 5 a - 5 b show a perspective view of the two housing shells according to FIG. 4 ;
- FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the wire-winding mechanics with a support frame and wire reel
- FIG. 7 shows the wire-winding device according to FIG. 4 with fully opened housing shells
- FIG. 8 shows a perspective top view of the wire-winding device according to FIG. 4 without the small housing shell
- FIG. 9 shows a perspective top view of the wire-winding device according to FIG. 4 with the housing shells shut and with the earphone wire inserted.
- the wire-winding device comprises a housing 1 in which the wire-winding unit referred to overall as 50 is accommodated so as to be removable.
- the top circumferential edge of housing 1 can be concealed by a cover 45 mountable on pin 17 so that the circumferential side wall of housing 1 is almost completely closed and the wire (not shown) is routed into and out of wire-winding unit 50 at diametrically opposed wire inlet and wire outlet areas.
- wire-winding unit 50 includes a base referred to overall as 10 with an axial pin 11 provided on it, on which wire-winding cylinder 20 is pivotably supported.
- Circumferential side wall 21 and arch-shaped curved wall 24 of cylinder 20 form a cylindrical receptacle in which torsion spring 30 is accommodated.
- End 31 of torsion spring 30 is hooked into slot 12 of pin 11 protruding through the base of cylinder 20 , the other end of torsion spring 30 bent into a lug 32 is hooked into axial cut-outs 23 of cylinder 20 .
- the cylindrical receptacle is covered on top by a spring lid 38 , radial projections 37 of which are pushed into further axial cut-outs 22 of cylinder 20 .
- front edge 38 of spring lid 35 is matched to the contour of arch-shaped curved area 24 of cylinder 20 .
- spring lid 35 sits a locking washer 40 with an internal hole 41 which is shaped to correspond to the front free end of pin 11 .
- locking washer 40 By placing locking washer 40 over the front free end of pin 11 , cylinder 20 with torsion spring 30 accommodated therein is secured axially, preferably essentially free from play.
- the axial locking referred to before can be achieved by means of hot-stamping of spring lid 35 on pin 11 .
- wire-winding unit 50 can be pushed as a unit into housing 1 and pulled out of it again, even with cylinder 20 pretensioned, as described in the following.
- arch-shaped curved side wall 24 and circumferential side wall of cylinder 20 form a wire clamping area or a wire guiding device 26 for the wire.
- cylinder 20 is brought into a rotational position in which the front or rear end respectively of aforementioned wire guiding device 26 is aligned or level with the front 15 or rear 19 wire inlet area respectively of base 10 .
- This rotational position can be secured by a locking mechanism, as described in the following, with torsion spring 30 pretensioned.
- front and rear wire inlet area 15 , 19 respectively are open at the top when wire-winding unit 50 has been removed from housing 1 .
- the wire can thus be introduced from the top in the aforementioned rotational position of cylinder 20 and can be inserted in the wire guiding device or wire clamping area 26 .
- wire-winding cylinder 20 continues to be pretensioned by torsion spring 30 in a rotational direction in which the wire is wound up further.
- the wire is automatically wound on circumferential side wall 21 of cylinder 20 . In this case care must be taken to ensure that the wire does not escape upwards out of wire inlet area 15 , 19 .
- wire-winding unit 50 is initially pushed into housing 1 after replacement of the wire and then the wire is wound up automatically by releasing the locking mechanism.
- front and rear wire inlet area 15 , 19 is secured at the top by side cover 6 and top side 2 of the housing when wire-winding unit 50 is completely pushed into housing 1 .
- side cover 6 engages in tangential slot 16 formed in front wire inlet cheeks 14 in order to further secure wire-winding unit 50 . Consequently, the wire cannot be replaced when wire-winding unit 50 is accommodated in housing 1 .
- a ball 7 is provided which is accommodated in a radial cut-out 13 provided in the floor of base 10 and in a labyrinth-like ball guide 28 (cf. FIG. 2 c ) provided on the underside of cylinder 20 , said ball guide being formed in a manner known from the prior art (cf. for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,803,525 B1).
- the ball on winding or unwinding of the wire, the ball runs on an inner circular path of circular guide 28 whilst the ball on stopping of rotary cylinder 20 finally runs into a radial outer receptacle of ball guide 28 in order to block further rotary movement of cylinder 20 .
- the locking mechanism created in this manner blocks the rotary movement of pretensioned (biased) cylinder 20 in discrete rotary positions of said cylinder predetermined by ball guide 28 .
- the locking mechanism is formed completely within wire-winding unit 50 , that is, formed completely by elements of said unit, which enables replacement of the wire in the manner previously described when wire-winding unit 50 is removed from housing 1 .
- such a locking mechanism can also be designed in a different manner, for example as a ratchet mechanism or pawl mechanism as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,803,525 B1, as a tongue-shaped locking element which reciprocates with a circular guide formed on the cylinder as disclosed in DE 20 2004 011 010 U1 or DE 20 2004 014 202 U1, or as a guide ring structure as disclosed for example in DE 298 13 079 U1.
- housing floor 3 On housing floor 3 is formed a projection 5 which reciprocates with a corresponding recess 9 on the underside of base 10 (cf. FIG. 3 b ) in order to create a latching mechanism for detachably securing of wire-winding unit 50 in housing 1 .
- wire-winding unit 50 can also be accommodated in housing 1 in any other positive fit or force fit manner.
- the diameter of wire-winding cylinder 20 is smaller than the diameter of base 10 .
- the floor of base 10 forms a flange-like structure which is closed by the dome-like or hood-like curved outer circumferential edge of housing 1 when wire-winding unit 50 is accommodated in said housing 1 .
- an annular gap is created between circumferential side wall 21 of cylinder 20 and the dome-like or hood-like curved outer circumferential edge of housing 1 , said gap being ideally suited due to its shape for secure accommodation of the wire wound onto cylinder 20 without the wire twisting or tangling.
- the wire-winding unit is removed from the housing for replacement of an earphone wire. Then the wire clamping area of the wire-winding body is easily accessible so that after essentially being completely unwound the earphone wire can be removed from said area and be replaced with a different earphone wire. In the completely unwound state, the wire-winding body is locked by a locking mechanism to prevent unintentional rewinding.
- the housing comprises a large housing shell 60 and a small housing shell 65 each of which is pivotably supported on upper and lower pins 140 respectively of front wire inlet cheeks 14 .
- front wire inlet area 15 and rear wire inlet area 19 are exposed on one hand and on the other the wire-winding unit is exposed with the result that, with the earphone wire substantially completely unwound, the wire in wire clamping area 26 can be released, removed and replaced by clamping of another earphone wire.
- FIG. 4 the housing comprises a large housing shell 60 and a small housing shell 65 each of which is pivotably supported on upper and lower pins 140 respectively of front wire inlet cheeks 14 .
- front wire inlet area 15 and rear wire inlet area 19 are exposed on one hand and on the other the wire-winding unit is exposed with the result that, with the earphone wire substantially completely unwound, the wire in wire clamping area 26 can be released, removed and replaced by clamping of another earphone wire.
- two wing-like broadened sections 110 are formed on the top end of shaft 11 , it being possible to move them elastically towards each other due to the longitudinal slot formed in shaft 11 .
- sections 110 By pressing sections 110 together, supported by the insertion chamfers formed on their upper side, it is possible when attaching spring lid 35 and locking washer 40 to insert sections 110 into hole 36 of spring lid 35 and into hole 41 of locking washer 40 .
- sections 110 move back apart and in this way secure wire-winding cylinder 20 and torsion spring 30 axially on shaft 11 .
- a flange 29 is formed on the floor of wire-winding cylinder 20 , the width of said flange corresponding in the radial direction to approximately the thickness of the wire coil in the completely wound state.
- FIG. 5 a on small housing shell 65 are provided two tabs 66 with holes 67 or cut-outs formed therein which are hooked into pins 140 on front wire inlet cheeks 14 (cf. FIG. 4 ) so as to pivotably support housing shell 65 on base 10 .
- an elastic snap hook 68 is formed on housing shell 65 , said hook reciprocating when the housing shells are closed with a latching cut-out 62 (cf. FIG. 7 ) formed on large housing shell 60 in order to lock the two housing shells 60 , 65 together and to hold the housing thus formed closed.
- FIG. 5 b on large housing shell 60 are formed two holes 61 or cut-outs, which are hooked into pins 140 on front wire inlet cheeks 14 (cf. FIG. 4 ) in order to support housing shell 60 pivotably on base 10 .
- FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of wire-winding unit 50 according to the second embodiment. It is possible to identify the axial securing of the spring lid, the spring and wire-winding cylinder 20 by locking washer 40 . Wire clamping area 26 is freely accessible from the top side of unit 50 .
- the front wire inlet area, rear wire inlet area 19 and wire clamping area 26 are freely accessible from the top after sliding apart the two housing shells 60 , 65 .
- the earphone wire (not shown) it can be removed from wire clamping area 26 and replaced with a different earphone wire.
- wire-winding cylinder 20 is locked due to the locking mechanism previously described or due to a comparable locking mechanism known from the prior art to prevent unintentional rewinding of wire-winding cylinder 20 .
- the locking mechanism can, for example, be released by a pulling movement on the earphone wire in the direction of unwinding or other measures known from the prior art.
- FIG. 9 clearly shows the two wire inlet areas 15 , 19 and wire clamping area 26 with the wire-winding unit inserted.
- FIG. 8 shows the wire-winding device according to the second embodiment with housing shells 60 , 65 closed and earphone wire 51 inserted.
- the two-shell housing is essentially completely closed and wire 51 is reliably guided by wire inlet cheeks 14 and 18 (cf. FIG. 4 ).
- the elements of the wire-winding device according to the invention can be formed precisely and inexpensively by injection molding of a suitable plastic.
- the outer diameter of cylindrical housing 1 depends essentially in this regard on the length of wire to be accommodated and can be approximately in the range of 4 to 6 cm for the preferred use according to the invention of winding up a hands free kit for mobile phones.
- retaining elements or retaining holders for temporary accommodation or securing of these elements can be provided on the housing so that such elements do not hang out of the housing in an uncontrolled manner.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Signal Processing (AREA)
- Headphones And Earphones (AREA)
- Insertion, Bundling And Securing Of Wires For Electric Apparatuses (AREA)
- Telephone Set Structure (AREA)
- Storing, Repeated Paying-Out, And Re-Storing Of Elongated Articles (AREA)
- Insulated Conductors (AREA)
Abstract
The invention relates to a wire-winding device for earphones, especially for a hands free kit for mobile phones. The wire-winding device comprises a wire-winding unit (50) with a rotary cylindrical wire-winding body (20) for winding up an earphone wire which is pretensioned in a direction of rotation in which the earphone wire will continue to be wound onto the wire-winding body (20) and a housing (1, 45; 60, 65) for accommodation of the wire-winding unit (50) with the wound up earphone wire and the pretensioned wire-winding body (20).
To enable the easy replacement of an earphone or earphone wire, the wire-winding unit (50) is designed according to the invention such that the earphone wire is replaceable with the wire-winding body (20) pretensioned. The wire-winding unit is removed from a housing or the housing is opened in order to replace an earphone. A wire clamping area is then freely accessible from which an earphone wire can be removed after unwinding and can be replaced with a different earphone wire. The wire-winding body is locked in the completely unwound state to prevent unintentional rewinding.
Description
- The present invention relates to a wire-winding device for earphones, especially for a hands free kit for mobile phones.
- A hands free kit for mobile phones usually comprises one or two earphones, a wire with a connector attached to it for connection to the mobile phone and a microphone, usually with clip, which is provided on the wire. Comparable earphones are available for a series of other electronic appliances, for example for mobile stereo cassette recorders, mobile CD players, mobile MP3 players and the like, and may include one or two earpieces for insertion into the ear. Such earphones enable mobile use of electronic appliances, for example when walking, running, driving a car or working. For all these uses there must be an adequate length of wire available which frequently leads to undesirable tangling of the wire.
- To prevent such tangling of the wire German Utility Model DE 296 21 717 U1 discloses a wire-winding device for the wire of a hands free kit with a housing and a wire winding unit provided within said housing which comprises a pivotable cylindrical wire-winding body for winding up the wire. The wire-winding body is pretensioned by means of a torsion or spiral spring in a direction of rotation in which the wire is further wound onto the wire-winding body. The wire is permanently attached to the wire-winding device with the result that different wire-winding devices have to be manufactured, stocked and sold for different types of hands free kits. This unnecessarily increases the manufacturing and sales costs. It is also not possible for the same wire-winding device to be used for different electronic appliances, such as a mobile phone and a mobile data play-back appliance.
- Further wire-winding devices, which are designed expressly for specific applications, are disclosed in the following German Patent or Utility Model applications: DE 20 2004 011 010 U1, DE 20 2004 014 202 U1, DE 2004 005 833 U1, DE 298 13 079 U1, DE 202 05 121 U1, DE 201 20 215 U1, DE 201 19 860 U1 and DE 198 47 143 A1. Further wire-winding devices predominantly for stationary applications are disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,010, U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,836, U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,815, U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,683 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,623,294 B2 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,389 B2. These wire-winding devices are not suitable for joint use with different types of earphones.
- A multi-function wire rewinder is disclosed in German Utility Model DE 20 2004 001 604 U1. To design the wire rewinder for different technical functions, the lower part of the housing can be combined with functional elements for realizing said different technical functions, especially with USB ports, card readers, sockets, cooling fans, radio transmitters and such like. This wire rewinder is not suitable for use for earphones or hands free kits for mobile phones already purchased by the user.
- U.S. Pat. No. 6,803,525 B1 discloses a wire-winding device. In the cylindrical housing a wire winding unit is provided with a cylindrical wire-winding body with an upper and a lower winding flange. A torsion spring, one end of which is actively joined to the wire-winding body, and the other end of which is actively joined to the housing, is provided for pretensioning of the wire-winding body. To assemble the wire-winding device, the wire must first of all be suitably wound and then the torsion spring for pretensioning of the wire-winding body must be suitably hooked in. There is no provision for subsequent replacement of the wire and this is also impossible unless the torsion spring is unhooked. Therefore, the wire-winding device is not suitable for easy replacement of the wire, i.e. for being used for a different earphone.
- The object of the present invention is to provide a wire-winding device for earphones, especially for hands free kits of mobile phones, with which it is possible to replace the earphone or the earphone wire in a simple manner.
- According to the present invention there is provided a wire-winding device wherein the wire-winding unit is designed such that the earphone wire can be replaced with the wire-winding body pretensioned or biased. Thus one and the same wire-winding device can be used for different types of earphones. In this case replacement can be undertaken by the user himself without the wire-winding unit having to be taken apart and re-assembled after replacement of the wire and/or without the necessity to unhook a torsion spring pretensioning (biasing) the wire-winding body and without the necessity to hook it back in after replacing the wire. The wire-winding device according to the invention can therefore be sold as an accessory independently of the earphone itself and replacement or insertion of the earphone wire can be undertaken by the user himself.
- Expediently, the wire-winding body has a wire clamping area for clamping the earphone wire. This clamping area can be formed by a clamping element on the outer circumference of the wire-winding body or more preferably by a channel-type wire guidance area formed by axially protruding walls of the wire-winding body. Expediently, the housing and/or the wire-winding unit is designed such that the earphone wire can be removed from the aforementioned clamping area in a completely unwound rotary position of the wire-winding body and a different earphone wire can be inserted and again be clamped by it. Thus there is no need for tedious unthreading of the earphone wire. The new earphone wire can also be inserted into the clamping area in an essentially stretched form and can be clamped by it.
- So that the wire clamping area is accessible in a suitable manner for replacement of the earphone wire, a removable cover may be provided on the housing and/or adjustable, especially hinged or pivotable, housing sections can be provided which expose the wire inlet area and the wire outlet area of the wire-winding device for replacement of the earphone wire and conceal it again after replacement so that the wire cannot be removed or fall out unintentionally.
- According to a further embodiment, the wire-winding unit together with the pretensioned wire-winding body is accommodated in the housing so as to be radially displaceable and replacement of the earphone wire is then prevented if the wire-winding unit is completely accommodated within the housing. This function can be accomplished by means of appropriate design of elements of the wire-winding unit and the housing, for example in that the wire inlet area and/or wire outlet area, which circumferentially surrounds the incoming wire, is or are formed by the reciprocation of sections of the wire-winding unit and sections of the housing.
- According to a further, preferred embodiment, the wire-winding unit together with the pretensioned wire-winding body can be taken out of the housing completely. This enables replacement of the wire with the wire-winding unit removed. It is advantageous if replacement of the wire is not prevented or hampered by sections of the housing.
- In this regard it can be expedient to provide on the housing and/or the wire-winding unit a latching mechanism for detachably securing the wire-winding unit in the housing. Such a latching mechanism can be formed by reciprocating latching elements or by a detachable locking mechanism. According to a further embodiment, the aforementioned securing function can be exercised by a clip element, expediently under elastic deformation of sections of the housing and/or the wire-winding unit.
- According to a further embodiment, a locking element is also provided for detachably locking the rotary movement of the wire-winding body which may be in discrete or arbitrary rotary positions of the wire-winding body. Thus it is possible to reliably prevent the wire from being rewound unintentionally, for example during use of the wire-winding device according to the invention or during replacement of the wire, especially in order to reliably insert the wire into the aforementioned wire clamping area.
- In this case the locking mechanism can be formed by reciprocation of the housing with the wire-winding unit, for example in such a way that a movable locking pawl is provided on the housing and a wheel with latching teeth reciprocating with said locking pawl is provided on the wire-winding body.
- According to a further embodiment, the locking mechanism is formed completely within the wire-winding unit. This makes it easier to completely remove the wire-winding unit with the wire-winding body pretensioned or biased. In this case the locking mechanism conveniently locks the wire-winding body even with the wire-winding unit in the removed state.
- According to a further embodiment, which can also be claimed by an independent claim, the wire-winding unit includes a torsion spring for pretensioning the wire-winding body, one end of which is actively joined to a floor of the wire-winding unit and the other end of which is actively joined to the wire-winding body. Thus the whole wire-winding unit can be taken out of the housing without having to unhook the torsion spring. This makes it simple to easily replace the wire in the removed state.
- The invention will be described in the following by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings from which further features, advantages and objects to be solved will become apparent and wherein:
-
FIG. 1 shows a perspective exploded view of a wire-winding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; -
FIGS. 2 a-2 b show a top view, a perspective top view, a bottom view and a side view of the wire-winding device according toFIG. 1 ; -
FIGS. 3 a-3 c show a top view, a bottom view and a perspective top view of the base of the wire-winding unit according toFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 4 shows a perspective exploded view of a wire-winding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention; -
FIGS. 5 a-5 b show a perspective view of the two housing shells according toFIG. 4 ; -
FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the wire-winding mechanics with a support frame and wire reel; -
FIG. 7 shows the wire-winding device according toFIG. 4 with fully opened housing shells; -
FIG. 8 shows a perspective top view of the wire-winding device according toFIG. 4 without the small housing shell; and -
FIG. 9 shows a perspective top view of the wire-winding device according toFIG. 4 with the housing shells shut and with the earphone wire inserted. - Identical reference numbers in the Figures refer to elements or element groups which are identical or have essentially the same function.
- According to
FIG. 1 the wire-winding device comprises ahousing 1 in which the wire-winding unit referred to overall as 50 is accommodated so as to be removable. The top circumferential edge ofhousing 1 can be concealed by acover 45 mountable onpin 17 so that the circumferential side wall ofhousing 1 is almost completely closed and the wire (not shown) is routed into and out of wire-windingunit 50 at diametrically opposed wire inlet and wire outlet areas. - According to
FIG. 1 , wire-windingunit 50 includes a base referred to overall as 10 with anaxial pin 11 provided on it, on which wire-windingcylinder 20 is pivotably supported.Circumferential side wall 21 and arch-shapedcurved wall 24 ofcylinder 20 form a cylindrical receptacle in whichtorsion spring 30 is accommodated.End 31 oftorsion spring 30 is hooked intoslot 12 ofpin 11 protruding through the base ofcylinder 20, the other end oftorsion spring 30 bent into alug 32 is hooked into axial cut-outs 23 ofcylinder 20. The cylindrical receptacle is covered on top by aspring lid 38,radial projections 37 of which are pushed into further axial cut-outs 22 ofcylinder 20. For complete closure of the cylindrical receptacle and to realize a positive fit,front edge 38 ofspring lid 35 is matched to the contour of arch-shapedcurved area 24 ofcylinder 20. Onspring lid 35 sits a lockingwasher 40 with aninternal hole 41 which is shaped to correspond to the front free end ofpin 11. By placing lockingwasher 40 over the front free end ofpin 11,cylinder 20 withtorsion spring 30 accommodated therein is secured axially, preferably essentially free from play. The axial locking referred to before can be achieved by means of hot-stamping ofspring lid 35 onpin 11. As a result of the construction referred to above, wire-windingunit 50 can be pushed as a unit intohousing 1 and pulled out of it again, even withcylinder 20 pretensioned, as described in the following. - According to
FIG. 1 , arch-shapedcurved side wall 24 and circumferential side wall ofcylinder 20 form a wire clamping area or awire guiding device 26 for the wire. To insert or replace the wire,cylinder 20 is brought into a rotational position in which the front or rear end respectively of aforementionedwire guiding device 26 is aligned or level with the front 15 or rear 19 wire inlet area respectively ofbase 10. This rotational position can be secured by a locking mechanism, as described in the following, withtorsion spring 30 pretensioned. According toFIG. 1 , front and rearwire inlet area unit 50 has been removed fromhousing 1. To insert the wire into wire-windingunit 50, the wire can thus be introduced from the top in the aforementioned rotational position ofcylinder 20 and can be inserted in the wire guiding device orwire clamping area 26. In this rotational position, wire-windingcylinder 20 continues to be pretensioned bytorsion spring 30 in a rotational direction in which the wire is wound up further. After releasing the locking mechanism, the wire is automatically wound oncircumferential side wall 21 ofcylinder 20. In this case care must be taken to ensure that the wire does not escape upwards out ofwire inlet area wire inlet cheeks base 10 when wire-windingunit 50 is not yet pushed intohousing 1. According to the preferred embodiment, however, wire-windingunit 50 is initially pushed intohousing 1 after replacement of the wire and then the wire is wound up automatically by releasing the locking mechanism. As can be seen fromFIG. 1 , front and rearwire inlet area side cover 6 andtop side 2 of the housing when wire-windingunit 50 is completely pushed intohousing 1. In the fully inserted position,side cover 6 engages intangential slot 16 formed in frontwire inlet cheeks 14 in order to further secure wire-windingunit 50. Consequently, the wire cannot be replaced when wire-windingunit 50 is accommodated inhousing 1. - For blocking the rotary movement of
cylinder 20, aball 7 is provided which is accommodated in a radial cut-out 13 provided in the floor ofbase 10 and in a labyrinth-like ball guide 28 (cf.FIG. 2 c) provided on the underside ofcylinder 20, said ball guide being formed in a manner known from the prior art (cf. for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,803,525 B1). In this case, on winding or unwinding of the wire, the ball runs on an inner circular path ofcircular guide 28 whilst the ball on stopping ofrotary cylinder 20 finally runs into a radial outer receptacle of ball guide 28 in order to block further rotary movement ofcylinder 20. By pulling gently on the wire, the ball can be released again and transferred into the inner circular path of ball guide 28 in whichcylinder 20 can be freely rotated. The locking mechanism created in this manner blocks the rotary movement of pretensioned (biased)cylinder 20 in discrete rotary positions of said cylinder predetermined byball guide 28. In this case the locking mechanism is formed completely within wire-windingunit 50, that is, formed completely by elements of said unit, which enables replacement of the wire in the manner previously described when wire-windingunit 50 is removed fromhousing 1. - Of course, such a locking mechanism can also be designed in a different manner, for example as a ratchet mechanism or pawl mechanism as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,803,525 B1, as a tongue-shaped locking element which reciprocates with a circular guide formed on the cylinder as disclosed in
DE 20 2004 011 010 U1 orDE 20 2004 014 202 U1, or as a guide ring structure as disclosed for example in DE 298 13 079 U1. - The contents of the printed matter cited in this paragraph are expressly included in the present application by way of reference for the purposes of disclosure.
- As shown in
FIG. 1 , onhousing floor 3 is formed aprojection 5 which reciprocates with acorresponding recess 9 on the underside of base 10 (cf.FIG. 3 b) in order to create a latching mechanism for detachably securing of wire-windingunit 50 inhousing 1. Of course, wire-windingunit 50 can also be accommodated inhousing 1 in any other positive fit or force fit manner. - As can be seen from FIGS. 1 to 3 c, the diameter of wire-winding
cylinder 20 is smaller than the diameter ofbase 10. Thus the floor ofbase 10 forms a flange-like structure which is closed by the dome-like or hood-like curved outer circumferential edge ofhousing 1 when wire-windingunit 50 is accommodated in saidhousing 1. In this state, an annular gap is created betweencircumferential side wall 21 ofcylinder 20 and the dome-like or hood-like curved outer circumferential edge ofhousing 1, said gap being ideally suited due to its shape for secure accommodation of the wire wound ontocylinder 20 without the wire twisting or tangling. - As can easily be seen from the previous description, the wire-winding unit is removed from the housing for replacement of an earphone wire. Then the wire clamping area of the wire-winding body is easily accessible so that after essentially being completely unwound the earphone wire can be removed from said area and be replaced with a different earphone wire. In the completely unwound state, the wire-winding body is locked by a locking mechanism to prevent unintentional rewinding.
- A second embodiment according to the present invention will be described in the following on the basis of FIGS. 4 to 8. According to
FIG. 4 , the housing comprises alarge housing shell 60 and asmall housing shell 65 each of which is pivotably supported on upper andlower pins 140 respectively of frontwire inlet cheeks 14. On swiveling open, frontwire inlet area 15 and rearwire inlet area 19 are exposed on one hand and on the other the wire-winding unit is exposed with the result that, with the earphone wire substantially completely unwound, the wire inwire clamping area 26 can be released, removed and replaced by clamping of another earphone wire. As shown inFIG. 4 , two wing-like broadenedsections 110 are formed on the top end ofshaft 11, it being possible to move them elastically towards each other due to the longitudinal slot formed inshaft 11. By pressingsections 110 together, supported by the insertion chamfers formed on their upper side, it is possible when attachingspring lid 35 and lockingwasher 40 to insertsections 110 intohole 36 ofspring lid 35 and intohole 41 of lockingwasher 40. When lockingwasher 40 is completely in position,sections 110 move back apart and in this way secure wire-windingcylinder 20 andtorsion spring 30 axially onshaft 11. In order to guide the inserted wire more effectively aflange 29 is formed on the floor of wire-windingcylinder 20, the width of said flange corresponding in the radial direction to approximately the thickness of the wire coil in the completely wound state. - According to
FIG. 5 a, onsmall housing shell 65 are provided twotabs 66 withholes 67 or cut-outs formed therein which are hooked intopins 140 on front wire inlet cheeks 14 (cf.FIG. 4 ) so as to pivotablysupport housing shell 65 onbase 10. On its diametrically opposing end anelastic snap hook 68 is formed onhousing shell 65, said hook reciprocating when the housing shells are closed with a latching cut-out 62 (cf.FIG. 7 ) formed onlarge housing shell 60 in order to lock the twohousing shells FIG. 5 b, onlarge housing shell 60 are formed twoholes 61 or cut-outs, which are hooked intopins 140 on front wire inlet cheeks 14 (cf.FIG. 4 ) in order to supporthousing shell 60 pivotably onbase 10. -
FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of wire-windingunit 50 according to the second embodiment. It is possible to identify the axial securing of the spring lid, the spring and wire-windingcylinder 20 by lockingwasher 40.Wire clamping area 26 is freely accessible from the top side ofunit 50. - As shown in
FIG. 7 , the front wire inlet area, rearwire inlet area 19 andwire clamping area 26 are freely accessible from the top after sliding apart the twohousing shells wire clamping area 26 and replaced with a different earphone wire. After unwinding the wire, wire-windingcylinder 20 is locked due to the locking mechanism previously described or due to a comparable locking mechanism known from the prior art to prevent unintentional rewinding of wire-windingcylinder 20. The locking mechanism can, for example, be released by a pulling movement on the earphone wire in the direction of unwinding or other measures known from the prior art. -
FIG. 9 clearly shows the twowire inlet areas wire clamping area 26 with the wire-winding unit inserted. -
FIG. 8 shows the wire-winding device according to the second embodiment withhousing shells earphone wire 51 inserted. In this state the two-shell housing is essentially completely closed andwire 51 is reliably guided bywire inlet cheeks 14 and 18 (cf.FIG. 4 ). - As will be easily apparent to the person skilled in the art on studying the preceding description, the elements of the wire-winding device according to the invention can be formed precisely and inexpensively by injection molding of a suitable plastic. The outer diameter of
cylindrical housing 1 depends essentially in this regard on the length of wire to be accommodated and can be approximately in the range of 4 to 6 cm for the preferred use according to the invention of winding up a hands free kit for mobile phones. In the completely wound state, essentially only the earpieces and the connector of the earphone protrude fromhousing 1 and in the case of being used for winding up a hands free kit for mobile phones also the microphone with retaining clip. According to a further embodiment which is not shown, retaining elements or retaining holders for temporary accommodation or securing of these elements can be provided on the housing so that such elements do not hang out of the housing in an uncontrolled manner.
Claims (19)
1. A wire-winding device for earphones, especially for a hands free kit for mobile phones comprising
a wire-winding unit, which comprises a rotary cylindrical wire-winding body for winding up an earphone wire which is pretensioned in a direction of rotation in which the earphone wire will continue to be wound onto the wire-winding body and
a housing for accommodation of the wire-winding unit with the wound up earphone wire and the pretensioned wire-winding body,
wherein the wire-winding unit is designed such that the earphone wire is replaceable with the wire-winding body pretensioned.
2. Wire-winding device according to claim 1 wherein the wire-winding body has a wire clamping area for clamping a section of the earphone wire whereby at least one of the housing and the wire-winding unit is designed such that in a completely unwound rotary position of the wire-winding body the earphone wire can be removed from the wire clamping area and a different earphone wire can be clamped by said wire clamping area.
3. Wire-winding device according to claim 2 wherein the wire clamping area is formed by a circumferential side wall of the wire-winding body and a radially opposing, arch-shaped curved wall of the wire-winding body.
4. Wire-winding device according to claim 1 wherein the housing includes a removable cover or pivotable housing sections to expose and conceal a wire inlet area and a wire outlet area for replacement of the earphone wire.
5. Wire-winding device according to claim 1 wherein the wire-winding unit together with the pretensioned wire-winding body is accommodated in the housing so as to be movable radially, whereby replacement of the earphone wire is then prevented when the wire-winding unit is accommodated completely in the housing.
6. Wire-winding device according to claim 5 wherein at least one of a wire inlet area and a wire outlet area of the wire-winding unit is formed by reciprocation of sections of said wire-winding unit and sections of the housing to permit or prevent replacement of the earphone wire.
7. Wire-winding device according to claim 1 wherein the wire-winding unit together with the pretensioned wire-winding body is completely removable from the housing for replacement of the earphone wire.
8. Wire-winding device according to claim 5 wherein a latching mechanism is provided on at least one of the housing and the wire-winding unit for detachably securing the wire-winding unit in the housing.
9. Wire-winding device according to claim 1 further including a locking mechanism for detachably locking a rotary movement of the wire-winding body in discrete or arbitrary rotary positions of the wire-winding body.
10. Wire-winding device according to claim 9 wherein the locking mechanism is formed by reciprocation of the housing with the wire-winding unit.
11. Wire-winding device according to claim 9 wherein the locking mechanism is formed completely inside the wire-winding unit.
12. Wire-winding device according to claim 11 wherein the locking mechanism is formed by a radial cut-out on a floor of the wire-winding unit and by a guide groove provided on an underside of the wire-winding unit facing the floor for guiding a ball accommodated in the radial cut-out.
13. Wire-winding device according to claim 12 wherein the locking mechanism is formed by a pawl mechanism.
14. Wire-winding device according to claim 1 wherein the wire-winding unit comprises a torsion spring for pretensioning the wire-winding body, one end of said spring being actively joined to a floor of the wire-winding unit and the other end being actively joined to the wire-winding body.
15. Wire-winding device according to claim 14 wherein the torsion spring is accommodated completely inside a cylindrical receptacle of the wire-winding body.
16. Wire-winding device according to claim 1 wherein the torsion spring is axially secured on a pin provided on the floor of the wire-winding unit.
17. Wire-winding unit according to claim 16 wherein the torsion spring is axially secured to the pin by hot stamping or latching of a locking element.
18. Wire-winding device according to claim 1 wherein retaining holders are provided for temporarily accommodating a connector or earphones or a microphone of the earphones or of the hands free kit.
19. Wire-winding device according to claim 1 wherein an outer circumferential wall of the housing is formed curved and dome-shaped or hood-shaped with the result that an annular wire receptacle for accommodating the earphone wire with a dome or hood-shaped curved outer circumference is formed between a circumferential side wall of the wire-winding body and the outer circumferential wall of the housing.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
DE202005002847.9 | 2005-02-21 | ||
DE200520002847 DE202005002847U1 (en) | 2005-02-21 | 2005-02-21 | Cord winder for earphones, in particular headsets for mobile phones |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20060243845A1 true US20060243845A1 (en) | 2006-11-02 |
Family
ID=34639015
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/355,734 Abandoned US20060243845A1 (en) | 2005-02-21 | 2006-02-16 | Wire-winding device for earphones, especially hands free kits for mobile phones |
Country Status (7)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20060243845A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP1693941B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP5037833B2 (en) |
AT (1) | ATE433615T1 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2536983A1 (en) |
DE (2) | DE202005002847U1 (en) |
ES (1) | ES2328392T3 (en) |
Cited By (11)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20080007870A1 (en) * | 2006-07-07 | 2008-01-10 | Han Sang Lee | Torsion spring, elastic device and sliding apparatus and portable appliance utilizing the device |
WO2009112614A1 (en) * | 2008-03-12 | 2009-09-17 | Diez Gonzalez Daniel | Cable winding device |
US20090238395A1 (en) * | 2008-03-19 | 2009-09-24 | Microsoft Corporation | Cable management for personal media player accessories |
US20130119178A1 (en) * | 2011-11-09 | 2013-05-16 | Sony Corporation | Cable winding device |
GB2507939A (en) * | 2011-07-07 | 2014-05-21 | Neil Callan | Universal Cable Retractor |
US8774443B1 (en) * | 2010-05-24 | 2014-07-08 | John C. Anderson | Mobile phone headset recoil device |
US9571928B2 (en) | 2014-03-13 | 2017-02-14 | Lg Electronics Inc. | Wireless sound equipment |
US20180269672A1 (en) * | 2017-03-17 | 2018-09-20 | Al Incorporated | Retractable cable assembly in use with electrical devices |
CN109019153A (en) * | 2018-06-12 | 2018-12-18 | 国网辽宁省电力有限公司朝阳供电公司 | A kind of insulated wire winder and its application method |
CN109230877A (en) * | 2018-09-12 | 2019-01-18 | 明基智能科技(上海)有限公司 | Line clamping device |
USD911317S1 (en) * | 2019-08-14 | 2021-02-23 | Skullcandy, Inc. | Base module for earphones |
Families Citing this family (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP6198589B2 (en) * | 2013-11-26 | 2017-09-20 | 矢崎総業株式会社 | Cable winding device and assembly method thereof |
KR101401906B1 (en) | 2014-04-14 | 2014-06-02 | 주식회사 블루콤 | Automatic cable rewinding module having side push key |
KR101615240B1 (en) | 2015-01-23 | 2016-04-25 | 엘지전자 주식회사 | Wireless sound equipment |
KR101630636B1 (en) * | 2015-06-16 | 2016-06-15 | 주식회사 이엠텍 | Automatic winding device having side push key |
Citations (17)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US84655A (en) * | 1868-12-01 | Improvement in boxes to contain cigars, monet | ||
US4634019A (en) * | 1986-03-14 | 1987-01-06 | J. L. Clark Manufacturing Co. | Container with plastic hinge |
US5354011A (en) * | 1993-02-26 | 1994-10-11 | 2844788 Canada Ltee | Take-up reel for window blind cords |
US5489010A (en) * | 1994-08-19 | 1996-02-06 | Rogers; Irvin S. | Retractable video game cable storage device |
US5544836A (en) * | 1994-06-03 | 1996-08-13 | Lloyds International Trust | Extensible and self-retractable cable device |
US5723815A (en) * | 1996-09-12 | 1998-03-03 | Pena; Rolando | Retractable electrical extension cord |
US6077108A (en) * | 1997-12-31 | 2000-06-20 | Krone Gmbh | Patch panel with retractable patch cord |
USD447864S1 (en) * | 2000-08-01 | 2001-09-18 | Richard A. Casparian | Phone holster |
USD470657S1 (en) * | 2000-10-31 | 2003-02-25 | Ykk Corporation | Card case |
US6578683B1 (en) * | 1999-11-12 | 2003-06-17 | Telefonix, Inc | Miniature retractable cord reel |
US6623294B2 (en) * | 1999-04-27 | 2003-09-23 | Astec International Limited | Adapter with manually retractable cable assembly and electrical plug assembly |
US6626389B2 (en) * | 2000-06-16 | 2003-09-30 | Magnet, Llc | Retractable modem cord device with spinning display |
US20040118651A1 (en) * | 2002-12-19 | 2004-06-24 | Jose Wei | Coaxial wire storage wheel |
US6803525B1 (en) * | 2004-01-05 | 2004-10-12 | Sheng Hsin Liao | Retractable cable device |
US6871812B1 (en) * | 2004-01-20 | 2005-03-29 | Wen-Han Chang | Multi-stages retractable coiling cord device |
US20050183915A1 (en) * | 2004-02-20 | 2005-08-25 | Jose Wei | Device for accommodating wire storage structure |
US7028939B2 (en) * | 2004-02-17 | 2006-04-18 | Sheng Hsin Liao | Assembled windlass structure |
Family Cites Families (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE1168206B (en) | 1962-06-23 | 1964-04-16 | Sued Atlas Werke G M B H | Cable reel with sliding contact arrangement, especially for dictation machines controlled by a switch on the microphone |
JPS59165862U (en) * | 1983-04-20 | 1984-11-07 | 三菱重工業株式会社 | cord reel |
JPH0343585U (en) * | 1989-09-08 | 1991-04-24 | ||
JPH0747319Y2 (en) * | 1989-12-30 | 1995-11-01 | 正勝 四倉 | Folding container |
DE10053949A1 (en) | 2000-10-31 | 2002-05-16 | Siemens Ag | Cable winding up device for cable connecting mobile radio apparatus to ear piece has part of cable wound in respective chambers of winding reel, biased by spring |
DE202004001604U1 (en) | 2004-02-03 | 2004-04-01 | Huang, Yea-Yen, Tocheng | Multi-function cable reel for connection cable for computer peripheral incorporating plug sockets, card reader, radio transmitter, LAN, HUB or ADSL router or zoom in required combination |
-
2005
- 2005-02-21 DE DE200520002847 patent/DE202005002847U1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
2006
- 2006-02-16 US US11/355,734 patent/US20060243845A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2006-02-20 AT AT06110167T patent/ATE433615T1/en active
- 2006-02-20 JP JP2006042074A patent/JP5037833B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2006-02-20 DE DE502006003918T patent/DE502006003918D1/en active Active
- 2006-02-20 EP EP06110167A patent/EP1693941B1/en not_active Not-in-force
- 2006-02-20 CA CA002536983A patent/CA2536983A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2006-02-20 ES ES06110167T patent/ES2328392T3/en active Active
Patent Citations (17)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US84655A (en) * | 1868-12-01 | Improvement in boxes to contain cigars, monet | ||
US4634019A (en) * | 1986-03-14 | 1987-01-06 | J. L. Clark Manufacturing Co. | Container with plastic hinge |
US5354011A (en) * | 1993-02-26 | 1994-10-11 | 2844788 Canada Ltee | Take-up reel for window blind cords |
US5544836A (en) * | 1994-06-03 | 1996-08-13 | Lloyds International Trust | Extensible and self-retractable cable device |
US5489010A (en) * | 1994-08-19 | 1996-02-06 | Rogers; Irvin S. | Retractable video game cable storage device |
US5723815A (en) * | 1996-09-12 | 1998-03-03 | Pena; Rolando | Retractable electrical extension cord |
US6077108A (en) * | 1997-12-31 | 2000-06-20 | Krone Gmbh | Patch panel with retractable patch cord |
US6623294B2 (en) * | 1999-04-27 | 2003-09-23 | Astec International Limited | Adapter with manually retractable cable assembly and electrical plug assembly |
US6578683B1 (en) * | 1999-11-12 | 2003-06-17 | Telefonix, Inc | Miniature retractable cord reel |
US6626389B2 (en) * | 2000-06-16 | 2003-09-30 | Magnet, Llc | Retractable modem cord device with spinning display |
USD447864S1 (en) * | 2000-08-01 | 2001-09-18 | Richard A. Casparian | Phone holster |
USD470657S1 (en) * | 2000-10-31 | 2003-02-25 | Ykk Corporation | Card case |
US20040118651A1 (en) * | 2002-12-19 | 2004-06-24 | Jose Wei | Coaxial wire storage wheel |
US6803525B1 (en) * | 2004-01-05 | 2004-10-12 | Sheng Hsin Liao | Retractable cable device |
US6871812B1 (en) * | 2004-01-20 | 2005-03-29 | Wen-Han Chang | Multi-stages retractable coiling cord device |
US7028939B2 (en) * | 2004-02-17 | 2006-04-18 | Sheng Hsin Liao | Assembled windlass structure |
US20050183915A1 (en) * | 2004-02-20 | 2005-08-25 | Jose Wei | Device for accommodating wire storage structure |
Cited By (18)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US8121658B2 (en) * | 2006-07-07 | 2012-02-21 | P & Tel Inc. | Torsion spring, elastic device and sliding apparatus and portable appliance utilizing the device |
US20080007870A1 (en) * | 2006-07-07 | 2008-01-10 | Han Sang Lee | Torsion spring, elastic device and sliding apparatus and portable appliance utilizing the device |
WO2009112614A1 (en) * | 2008-03-12 | 2009-09-17 | Diez Gonzalez Daniel | Cable winding device |
US20090238395A1 (en) * | 2008-03-19 | 2009-09-24 | Microsoft Corporation | Cable management for personal media player accessories |
US8139809B2 (en) | 2008-03-19 | 2012-03-20 | Microsoft Corporation | Cable management for personal media player accessories |
US8774443B1 (en) * | 2010-05-24 | 2014-07-08 | John C. Anderson | Mobile phone headset recoil device |
GB2507939A (en) * | 2011-07-07 | 2014-05-21 | Neil Callan | Universal Cable Retractor |
US8910895B2 (en) * | 2011-11-09 | 2014-12-16 | Sony Corporation | Cable winding device |
US20130119178A1 (en) * | 2011-11-09 | 2013-05-16 | Sony Corporation | Cable winding device |
US9571928B2 (en) | 2014-03-13 | 2017-02-14 | Lg Electronics Inc. | Wireless sound equipment |
US10321229B2 (en) | 2014-03-13 | 2019-06-11 | Lg Electronics Inc. | Wireless sound equipment |
US20180269672A1 (en) * | 2017-03-17 | 2018-09-20 | Al Incorporated | Retractable cable assembly in use with electrical devices |
US10516258B2 (en) * | 2017-03-17 | 2019-12-24 | AI Incorporated | Retractable cable assembly in use with electrical devices |
US11177641B1 (en) * | 2017-03-17 | 2021-11-16 | AI Incorporated | Retractable cable assembly in use with electrical devices |
US11721967B1 (en) | 2017-03-17 | 2023-08-08 | AI Incorporated | Retractable cable assembly in use with electrical devices |
CN109019153A (en) * | 2018-06-12 | 2018-12-18 | 国网辽宁省电力有限公司朝阳供电公司 | A kind of insulated wire winder and its application method |
CN109230877A (en) * | 2018-09-12 | 2019-01-18 | 明基智能科技(上海)有限公司 | Line clamping device |
USD911317S1 (en) * | 2019-08-14 | 2021-02-23 | Skullcandy, Inc. | Base module for earphones |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
ATE433615T1 (en) | 2009-06-15 |
EP1693941A2 (en) | 2006-08-23 |
DE502006003918D1 (en) | 2009-07-23 |
ES2328392T3 (en) | 2009-11-12 |
EP1693941A3 (en) | 2008-01-23 |
DE202005002847U1 (en) | 2005-06-02 |
CA2536983A1 (en) | 2006-08-21 |
JP2006238437A (en) | 2006-09-07 |
EP1693941B1 (en) | 2009-06-10 |
JP5037833B2 (en) | 2012-10-03 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US20060243845A1 (en) | Wire-winding device for earphones, especially hands free kits for mobile phones | |
US20070251786A1 (en) | Wire-winding device for earphones, especially hands free kits for mobile phones | |
US9788640B2 (en) | Attachable extendable and retractable earpiece and protective casing assembly for mobile communication and sound devices | |
US6315231B1 (en) | Micro-type communication wire winder | |
US6942079B2 (en) | Power cord winding and releasing device | |
US6942173B1 (en) | Cord storage device | |
EP0462846A2 (en) | Retractable reel, assembly for telephone extension cord | |
US20070023559A1 (en) | Electronic device case | |
JP3183178U (en) | Headphone or earphone storage device | |
US20170013343A1 (en) | Cable winding device | |
KR102382177B1 (en) | Detachable grip module for mobile terminal | |
KR200443306Y1 (en) | Earphone case | |
JP3175864U (en) | Cover case for portable terminal | |
JPH1155778A (en) | Cord reel for earphone | |
CN110770531B (en) | Compact size tape measure | |
JP5546027B2 (en) | Low frequency treatment device | |
KR200336095Y1 (en) | Apparatus for winding earphone | |
GB2373493A (en) | Reel | |
KR101479605B1 (en) | eardog earphone | |
KR200342206Y1 (en) | Apparatus for winding code of hook earphone | |
JP3042118U (en) | Organizer for earphone cords for mobile phones | |
KR200210159Y1 (en) | Earphone for mobile communication device | |
KR200204483Y1 (en) | Hands free earphone apparatus | |
KR20150072038A (en) | Earphone line bobbin | |
JP2009057132A (en) | Cable or cord winder |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |