Abstract:
A retractor having a retractable tether and a spring biased reel providing a retracting force throughout the full extension of the tether to take up any slack in the tether and to return the tether to its normal wound storage position on the reel. The retractor having a housing and a swivel attachment component extending from the housing which enables the housing of the retractor to pivot relative to the surface to which the retractor is connected. The general structure of the swivel attachment component permits ready assembly of any one of various configured swivel attachment components to the retractor housing.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a retractor device having a retractable tether and a spring biased reel providing a retracting force throughout the full extension of the tether to take up any slack in the tether and to return the tether to its normal wound storage position on the reel, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a constant pull retractor having a swivel attachment component which enables the housing of the retractor to pivot relative to the surface to which the retractor is connected.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    There exist many uses for tethers in which an otherwise loose object is connected to another object with an unbreakable chain or flexible wire. For instance, pens may be tethered to a table top; security badges, keys, identification cards, lift tickets and the like may be tethered to a person or other object; and goods may be tethered to a display fixture for security purposes.  
           [0003]    An example of a constant pull cable retractor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,124,685 which issued to Rankin and which is assigned to the assignee of the present application. As best illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5 of the &#39;685 patent, a cable is retracted onto a reel by a constant force spring fixed at an inner end to the periphery of a spring hub and at an outer end to the periphery of a cylindrical flange which coaxially extends from the side of the reel and rotates therewith. The spring winds in opposite directions onto the coaxial reel flange and the spring hub. That is, as the spring unwinds from the spring hub, it winds onto the coaxial reel flange, and vice versa. A permanent inward camber along the length of the spring relative to the spring hub produces a torque on the reel in a direction which retracts the cable with substantially constant pull throughout its full extension. Other examples of constant pull retractors are those manufactured and sold under the Pullbox® trademark by Vulcan Spring &amp; Mfg. Co. of Telford, Pa.  
           [0004]    The housings of the above referenced retractors are rigidly secured with adhesives, screws or other fasteners to a mounting surface. The retractable tether extends through an exit port formed in the stationary retractor housing. Thus, the exit port is stationary relative to the mounting surface.  
           [0005]    One problem with manufacturing small-sized, or miniature, constant pull retractors is that the relatively small gauge retractor cable, or other retractor components adjacent the cable exit port, can rapidly become worn or fail due to the contact between the tensioned cable and the adjacent retractor components. This is particularly a problem when the cable, or tether, is pulled in a direction other than forward relative to the exit port.  
           [0006]    While the above referenced retractors function properly for their intended purposes, there is a need for a retractor which can be provided in a relatively small, or miniature, size and which has a long service life. Preferably, the retractor should have a retractable cable extendable from a housing which is freely rotatable relative to a mounting surface so that the retractor cable exit port always points substantially toward the direction of pull of the retractable cable. In addition, the retractor should be capable of ready attachment to a mounting surface and should be inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.  
         OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    With the foregoing in mind, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a small-sized, or miniature, constant pull retractor which has a long service life.  
           [0008]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a constant pull retractor with an attachment component which can be readily secured to a mounting surface and which permits the retractor to pivot, or swivel, relative to the mounting surface.  
           [0009]    A further object of the present invention is to provide a constant pull retractor which can be inexpensively manufactured and readily assembled.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    More specifically, the present invention provides a retractor having a housing with a rotatable reel captured therein. A cable is wound on the reel and has a terminal end extending exteriorly of the housing such that the cable is extendable from the housing and is retractable onto the reel by the force of spring located in the housing. The terminal end of the cable has an end fitting and is prevented from retracting into the housing. An attachment component extends from the retractor housing and has an attachment surface located exteriorly of the housing. Thus, when the attachment surface of the attachment component is mounted to a mounting surface, the retractor housing is permitted to freely pivot relative to the mounting surface and the attachment component. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention should become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a retractor connected to a mounting surface according to the present invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the retractor and mounting surface taken along line  2 - 2  of FIG. 1;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a retractor according to the present invention having a suction cup attachment component;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a retractor according to the present invention having a belt clip attachment component;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a retractor according to the present invention having a hook and loop fastener attachment component; and  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of a retractor according to the present invention having a double-sided adhesive tape attachment component.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0018]    Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a retractor  10  which has a construction according to the present invention and which is secured to a stationary mounting surface  12  such that the retractor can pivot 360° about an axis “A”. In FIG. 1, the retractor  10  is drawn to a scale of about twice the size of the actual retractor  10 . Thus, the retractor  10  is relatively small, or miniature, and is particularly suited for uses involving, for instance, attaching a pen to a table top or attaching keys, identification cards, tickets and like objects to a person or another object. By way of example, and not by way of limitation, the illustrated retractor can have a housing  14  which is about 2.0 inches in length, 1.25 inches in width, and 0.63 inches in thickness.  
         [0019]    Preferably, as illustrated, the housing  14  of the retractor  10  is substantially pear-shaped, or oval, in plan with one end  16  being markedly tapered relative to the larger opposite end  18 . The larger end  18  houses a reel  20  for a retractable cable  22 . The reel  20  has a circular periphery and rotates about axis “A”. The tapered end  16  provides an exit port, or slot,  44   a  through which the retractable cable  22  extends. An alternate exit port  44   b  is provided intermediate of the larger end  18  and tapered end  16  to provide the option of having the cable  22  extend laterally through the housing  14  instead of through the tapered end  16 . The larger end  18  also houses a spring  24  which provides a force on the cable  22  to retract the cable  22  onto the reel  20 . The above described retractor has an extremely compact construction which can be provided in small sizes.  
         [0020]    The construction of the retractor  10  also provides for ready assembly of parts. To this end, the housing  14  is provided by a base section  26  and a cover  28  which are secured together by a friction fit, snap engaging mechanism, screws, adhesives, welds, or other known fastening mechanisms. The cover  28  includes an upper pear-shaped wall  30  and a depending peripheral sidewall  32  which mates with the base section  26  to form the housing  14 . Preferably, a hollow cylindrical flange (not shown) depends from the inner face of the upper wall  30  such that the flange extends concentric with axis “A”, permits the reel  20  to be rotatably mounted to the housing  14 , and forms an open channel  72  extending through the housing  14 . Thus, during assembly, the reel  20  is positioned on the hollow cylindrical flange in end  18  of the cover  28  and the base section  26  is applied to the free end of the sidewall  32  to capture the reel  20  in the housing  14 .  
         [0021]    The reel  20  has a lower hub  34  on which the cable  22  is wound and an upper hub  36  on which the leading end of the spring  24  is wound. The reel  20  has a hollow central portion which is concentric with axis “A” and which rotatably mounts on the hollow cylindrical flange extending from the cover  28  of the housing  14 .  
         [0022]    The cable  22  has a terminal end  40  which extends from the reel  20  through the exit slot  44   a  formed in the apex  42  of the tapered end  16  of the housing  14 , or alternatively, through the alternate exit slot  44   b  formed in the side of the housing  14 . The terminal end  40  has an end fitting  46  which, as illustrated, is a loop. Other end fittings known in the art can be utilized. The end fitting  46  prevents the terminal end  40  from being retracted into the housing  14  and provides a means of connecting the cable  22  to an object (not shown) which is to be tethered to the housing  14 . Preferably, a protective collar  48  is provided adjacent the slot  44   a , or  44   b , to prevent premature wear of the housing  14  adjacent the slot  44   a , or  44   b , and to provide added protection from the terminal end  40  being retracted completely into the housing  14 .  
         [0023]    The spring  24  is preferably a constant force spring which has a memorized wound shape. The leading outer end of the spring is attached to, and is partially wound on, the upper hub  36  of the reel  20 . A remaining wound portion  50  of the spring  24  is captured in the tapered end  16  of the housing between the upper wall  30  of the cover  28  and a raised support surface  52  projecting from the base  26 . Thus, the remaining wound portion  50  of the spring  24  is not attached about a hub; rather, it is merely freely positioned in the tapered end  16  during assembly of the retractor  10 .  
         [0024]    In use, as the cable  22  is pulled and intentionally unwound from reel  20 , the spring  24  unwinds from the tapered end  16  of the housing  14  and is wound in an opposite direction onto the lower hub  36  of the reel  20 . As the cable  22  is retracted back onto the reel  20 , the spring  24  is wound into the tapered end  16  and is unwound from the lower hub  36  of the reel  20 . A permanent inward camber along the length of the spring  24  relative to the lower hub  36  produces a torque on the reel  20  in a direction which retracts the cable  22  with substantially constant pull throughout the full extension of the cable  22 .  
         [0025]    One of the unique aspects of the present invention is the swivel attachment component  38  which extends from the housing  14 . As illustrated in FIG. 2, preferably the swivel  38  includes a substantially flat disc shaped member  54  and an integral stem  56  projecting centrally and perpendicularly therefrom to a free end  56   a . The stem  56  extends through the channel  72  of the housing  14  and its free end  56   a  is secured with a fastener  74  to secure the swivel component  38  to the housing  14  such that the housing  14  is rotatable relative to the swivel  38  about axis “A”. Thus, axis “A” forms the axis of rotation of the housing  14  relative to the swivel  38  and the reel  20  relative to the housing  14 .  
         [0026]    Preferably, the flat disc shaped member  54  of the swivel  38  is located adjacent the exterior side of the base section  26  of the housing  14  and does not extend beyond the outer periphery  62  of the base section  26 . The flat member  54  has an attachment surface  58  to which the member  54  is secured to a mounting surface, such as surface  12  illustrated in the drawings. When the attachment surface  58  of the member  54  is attached to the mounting surface  12 , the housing  14  of the retractor  10  is permitted to pivot about the stem  56  along axis “A” as illustrated by the arrows “B” in FIG. 1. Thus, as the cable  22  is pulled in different directions, the housing  14  is permitted to rotate such that the tapered end  16  is always pointed substantially toward the direction of pull.  
         [0027]    During assembly, the stem  56  is inserted through an aperture  60  located in the base section  26  and is received and captured within the hollow open channel  72  extending through the housing  14 . The fastener  74  is secured to the free end  56   a  of the stem  56  to prevent the withdraw of the stem  56  from the channel  72 . Preferably, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the upper wall  30  of the cover  28  has a recess  76  adjacent the free end  56   a  of the stem  56  so that the fastener  74  is seated below the upper surface of the upper wall  30 .  
         [0028]    Various other means for connecting the swivel  38  to the housing  14  are contemplated. For example, the distal end of the stem  56  can be provided with an expandable securement component (not shown) which permits initial insertion into the housing  14  and which expands thereafter to prevent the stem  56  from being reversely pulled from the housing after initial assembly. Other techniques, such as welding techniques, can also be utilized to secure the stem  56  to the housing  14 . Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a separate headed fastener  78 , such as a threaded screw, can be inserted through the channel  72  and thereafter be connected to an attachment component, such as the illustrated suction cup  64 .  
         [0029]    Various attachment components can be utilized to attach the swivel  38  to a mounting surface  12  or like object. For example, a suction cup  64  (FIG. 3), a clip such as a belt clip  66  (FIG. 4), hook and loop fasteners  68  (FIG. 5) and a double-sided adhesive tape  70  (FIG. 6) can be utilized.  
         [0030]    Another alternative is to attach the retractor  10  without the use of a swivel  38  to an elongate string, rod or the like (not shown). For example, a string necklace or the like can be threaded through the channel  72  of the retractor  10  to capture the retractor  10  on the necklace so that the necklace and supported retractor  10  can be worn around a person&#39;s neck. In this case, a security badge, key, ticket, or like object can be tethered to the retractor  10  and readily accessed by the wearer of the necklace. Another example is to support several retractors  10  on a rigid rod (not shown) by inserting the end of the rod through the channel  72  of each retractor  10 . In this example, articles can be tethered to the retractors  10  which are rotatable and slidable relative to the rod.  
         [0031]    Thus, the above-described retractor  10  used in combination with an attachment means according to the present invention provides a unique manner of tethering relatively lightweight objects to a mounting surface. The unique construction of the retractor permits the efficient manufacture and assembly of relatively small sized retractors which have a long service life.  
         [0032]    While a preferred retractor has been described in detail, various modifications, alterations, and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the retractor according to the present invention as defined in the appended claims.