Patent Publication Number: US-9890013-B2

Title: Wire-winding device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an improved wire-winding device, and more particularly to improve the reliability of stretching out and drawing back for a wire-winding device. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In a conventional wire-winding device having a rotary base with spacers, when a transmission line or cable is bent from a wire casing of the rotary base, the cable is easy to rub the spacer. And when the cable is wound around the rotary base, part of the cable will protrude outward. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a wire-winding device which avoids the friction between the transmission line and the spacer and making the transmission smooth. 
     In order to achieve the object set forth, the wire-winding device comprising: an upper cover; a spiral spring; a rotary base having a groove to accommodate the spiral spring on the bottom surface thereof; a transmission line winding around the rotary base; a lower cover assembled with the upper cover; and a pillar, an outlet, and a wire casing formed on one side of the groove, and two spacers surrounding the peripheral edge of the groove, the pillar having a first end portion which shifts outward to the edge of rotary base, the wire casing having a smooth curved surface formed on the bottom surface thereof near the outlet to enlarge the accommodating space near the outlet and reduce the friction between the transmission line and the spacers. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an assembled, perspective view of a wire-winding device in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a partially exploded, perspective view of the wire-winding device as shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a partially exploded, perspective view of the wire-winding device as shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded, perspective view of a wire-winding device as shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an another exploded view of the wire-winding device as shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the rotary base of the wire-winding device as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  is a bottom view of the rotary base as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
         FIGS. 8A-8F  are mutual action principle schematic between the elastic positioning element and the annular track. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe the present invention in detail. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 5 , an improved wire-winding device  100  according to the present invention includes an upper cover  1 , a rotary base  5 , a spiral spring  6  received into the rotary base  6 , a transmission line  7  winding around the rotary base  6  and a lower cover  8  assembled to the upper cover  1 . The upper cover  1  has a terraced through hole  11  in the center thereof. And the upper cover  1  has a circular groove  15  formed on the top surface thereof connecting to the through hole  11 , a long and narrow rectangle slot  12  deviating a center of the bottom surface of the upper cover  1 , a protruding cylinder  13  and a concave hole  14  at each side of the upper cover  1 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4 to 6 , the rotary base  5  has a through hole  51  in the center thereof and two spacers or dividers  53  formed at the peripheral edge thereof. The spacer  53  divides the transmission line  7  into upper and lower rows. A groove  57  is provided on the bottom surface of the rotary base  5  for positioning the spiral spring  6 . There are a pillar  54 , an outlet  55  and a wire casing or space  56  on one side of the groove  57 . The pillar  54  has a first end portion  541 . The first end portion  541  extends to the edge of the rotary base  5  to make the transmission line  7  outside the first end portion  541  protrude outward. There is a smooth curved surface  561  formed on the bottom surface of the wire casing  56  near the outlet  55  extending to the outlet  55 . The smooth curved surface  561  has a depth gradually decreasing along a top-to-bottom direction. The enlarged accommodation space near the outlet  55  due to the smooth curved surface  561  can reduce the friction between the transmission line 7  near the outlet  55  and the peripheral edge of the spacer  53 . The transmission line  7  where it winds around the outlet  55  protrudes outward because the transmission line  7  winds around the outlet  55 . Meanwhile the transmission line  7  where it winds around the first end portion  541  of the pillar  54  protrudes outward. So the whole transmission line  7  winding around the rotary base  5  is rounded and smooth. 
     The rotary base  5  has an annular track  52  on the top surface thereof. The annular track  52  includes an outer race, an inner race and a guide rail connecting the outer race and the inner race. The annular track  52  has a step with different height. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 5 , the spiral spring  6  has a first end portion  61  and a second end portion  62 . The second end portion  62  is bent into a semicircle to accommodate the pillar  54  below the rotary base  5 . One end of the transmission line  7  is lightning connector  71 , the other end is USB connector  72 . A circular column  81  protrudes upward from the center of the lower cover  8 . The circular column  81  has a groove  82  on one side thereof. The groove  82  accommodates the first end portion  61  of the spiral spring  6  to fix the spiral spring  6 . The lower cover  8  has a protruding cylinder  83  and a concave hole  84  at each side thereof. The improved wire-winding device  100  according to the present invention also has an elastic positioning element  2 , a screw  3  and a decorative piece  4 . The elastic positioning element  2  has a base  22 . The base  22  has a fixed part at each side and a elastic part between the fixed parts. A positioning part or guiding protrusion  21  extends from the bottom surface of the base  22 . The height of the elastic part is lower than the height of the fixed part. The base  22  of the elastic positioning element  2  is accommodated to the rectangle slot  12  of the upper cover  1 . The positioning part  21  is accommodated to the annular track  52 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 5 , the improved wire-winding device  100  according to the present invention is assembling, the spiral spring  6  is accommodated to the groove  57  of the rotary base  5  at first. The second end portion  62  of the spiral spring  6  surrounds the pillar  55  of the rotary base  5 . 
     And then the inner/center portion (not shown) of the transmission line  7  passes through the wire casing  53  and the outlet  54  to make the both ends of the transmission line  7  surround the rotary base  5  in a same rotation direction. The transmission line  7  is divided into upper and lower rows by the spacers  53 . The smooth curved surface  561  near the outlet  55  extends to the outlet  55 . So the space near the outlet  55  enlarges and it can reduce the friction between the transmission line  7  and the spacers  53 . And then the rotary base  5  is installed in the lower cover  8 . The first end portion  61  of the spiral spring  6  is accommodated to the groove  82  of the circular column 81 . The both ends of the transmission line  7  pass through the gap between the protruding cylinder  83  and a concave hole  84  on both sides of the lower cover  8 . And then the positioning part  21  is accommodated to the annular track  52  of the rotary base  5 . And the upper cover  1  is installed in the lower cover  8 . At the same time the base  22  of the elastic positioning element  2  is accommodated to the rectangle slot  12  of the upper cover  1  and it can move back and forth along the rectangle slot  12 . The protruding cylinder  13  and the concave hole  14  on both sides of the upper cover  1  respectively join the corresponding concave hole  84  and protruding cylinder  83  on both sides of the lower cover  8 . And then the screw  3  is screwed in the circular column  81 . At last, the decorative piece  4  is accommodated to the circular groove  15  of the upper cover  1 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 8A to 8F , showing the mutual action principle schematic of the elastic positioning element  2  and the annular track  52  of the improved wire-winding device  100  according to the present invention. The positioning part  21  of the elastic positioning element  2  is accommodated to the annular track  52 . When the user pulls the transmission line  7  from the wire-winding device  100  in counter-clockwise direction, the rotary base  5  turns in the same direction. And the annular track  52  rotates with it. And then the base  22  of the elastic positioning element  2  moves in the rectangle slot  22 . The position of the positioning part  21  changes relative to the rotary base  5 . As shown in  FIGS. 8A to 8F , the annular track  52  rotates sequentially 0 degree (latching position), 180 degree, 270 degree, 360 degree, 450 degree and 630 degree. And finally back to the latching position in the first place. It can be seen that when you pull the transmission line  7  outwards, the rotary base  5  starts to rotate in counter-clockwise direction. At this moment the elastic positioning element  2  starts to rotate from the latching position to the outer race. When the rotary base  5  rotates to the  270  degree, the elastic positioning element  2  rotates to the inner race in the clockwise direction through the rail which connects the outer race and the inner race. And then the elastic positioning element  2  rotates in the clockwise direction in the inner race all the time until the whole transmission line  7  is pulled out. On the contrary, when you stop pulling the transmission line  7 , the rotary base  5  starts to rotates in the clockwise direction because of the restoring force of the spiral spring  6 . If the elastic positioning element  2  is in the inner race of the annular track  52  this moment, the elastic positioning element  2  rotates to the latching position in counter-clockwise direction along the inner race. If the elastic positioning element  2  is in the outer race of the annular track  52 , the elastic positioning element  2  will rotates to the latching position in the counter-clockwise direction along the outer race. The elastic positioning element  2  plays an important role in movement and positioning in the annular track  52  through the guiding of the annular track  52  with the steps and the elastic deformation of the elastic part of the base of the elastic positioning element  2 . The wire casing  56  has a smooth curved surface  561  formed on the bottom surface thereof near the outlet  55  extending to the outlet  55 . So the accommodating space near the outlet  55  enlarges and it can reduce the friction between the transmission line  7  where it bends around the rotary base  5  and the edge of the spacer  53  near the outlet  55  which can reduce the risk of fracture of the transmission line  7  and improves the product life and reliability. Meanwhile the shifting outward of one side of the pillar  54  make the transmission line  7  protrude outward. And working in with the bulge of the transmission line  7  near the outlet  55 , the transmission line  7  winding around the rotary base  5  is rounded, smooth and more beautiful. 
     When the improved wire-winding device  100  according to the present invention is working, the rotary base  5  will rotate if both ends of the transmission line  7  are pulled outward. And the spiral spring  6  is compressed to pull the transmission line  7  out until the positioning part  21  reach the latching position of the annular track  52 . The user can pull the transmission line  7  out favorably through above steps. However when the wire-winding device  100  according to the present invention is accommodating the transmission line  7 , the user can finish accommodating of the transmission line  7  easily if the positioning part  21  is separated from the latching position of the annular track  52  and the spiral spring  6  pulls the transmission line  7  to the external interlayer of the rotary base  5  by restoring force.