Patent Publication Number: US-10773921-B2

Title: Attachment structure for cord reel, and apparatus including cord reel and holder

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims benefit to U.S. provisional application No. 62/640,022, filed on Mar. 8, 2018. The entire disclosure of U.S. provisional application 62/640,022 is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to an attachment structure of a cord reel to a holder for mounting the cord reel, the cord reel being used for various types of cords such as cables for transmitting electric signals or the like, hoses, and wires. 
     Background Art 
     Handsets used by passengers for screen operations and the like in a mobile body such as aircrafts are known. The handset is removably housed in a cradle. A cord for transmitting electrical signals is connected to the handset, and a cord reel disposed in the cradle enables the cord to be wound and pulled out. Further, the cord reel is connected to a holder and fixed to a seat or the like. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY The present disclosure aims to provide an attachment structure in which a cord reel can be easily mounted to a holder. 
     The attachment structure for a cord reel according to the present disclosure is a structure for removably attaching to a holder a cord reel configured to rotate around a rotation axis to pull out or rewinding the cord. The attachment structure includes a first engaging part, a second engaging part, a holder base, and one or more notches. The first engaging part is located on an outer surface of the cord reel and protrudes in a first direction which is a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis. The second engaging part is located on the outer surface of the cord reel at a position different from the first engaging part in a second direction along the rotation axis. The holder base is located on the holder and has an opening into which the cord reel can be inserted in the second direction. The one or more notches are positioned along an outer periphery of the opening of the holder base and allow the first engaging part to pass through in the second direction. When the cord reel is attached to the holder, the holder base is disposed between the first engaging part and the second engaging part in the second direction. 
     An apparatus according to the present disclosure includes the above described attachment structure, a cord reel configured to rotate around a rotation axis enabling pulling out or rewinding of the cord, and a holder to which the cord reel is removably attached. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an apparatus including a cord reel and a holder according to a first exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a plan view of the cord reel according to the first exemplary embodiment along an XY plane (lower side). 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a lower side of the holder according to the first exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a plan view of the holder according to the first exemplary embodiment along the XY plane (upper side). 
         FIG. 5A  is a side view of the apparatus in a state before attaching the cord reel to the holder according to the first exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 5B  is a plan view of the apparatus of  FIG. 5A  along the XY plane (upper side). 
         FIG. 6A  is a side view of the apparatus in a state after attaching the cord reel to the holder according to the first exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 6B  is a plan view of the state of  FIG. 6A  along the XY plane (upper side). 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. However, a detailed description more than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed description of already well-known matters and redundant description of configurations that are substantially the same may be omitted. This is to avoid the following description from being unnecessarily redundant and thus to facilitate understanding of the description by those skilled in the art. 
     It is to be noted that the attached drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and therefore they are not intended to restrict the subject matters of claims. 
     In the following description, a positive direction of an X axis corresponds to a direction in which the cord is pulled out from the cord reel. A Y axis is an axis orthogonal to the X axis in the same plane. A Z axis is an axis that is orthogonal to the X axis and the Y axis and is along the rotation axis of the cord reel. A positive direction of a Z axis corresponds to a direction in which the cord reel is removed from the holder, and a negative direction of the Z axis corresponds to a direction in which the cord reel is attached to the holder. Further, the Z axis positive side may be referred to as “upper side”, and the Z axis negative side may be referred to as “lower side”; however, in the present disclosure, the upper and lower sides are not limited to the gravity direction. 
     1. First Exemplary Embodiment 
     A first exemplary embodiment will be described below with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 6 . 
     1-1. Configuration 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an apparatus  1  according to the first exemplary embodiment.  FIG. 2  is a plan view of a cord reel  100  according to the first exemplary embodiment along an XY plane (lower side). 
     The apparatus  1  includes the cord reel  100  and a holder  200  to which the cord reel  100  is detachably attached. 
     1-1-1. Configuration of Cord Reel 
     A reel body  113  within the cord reel  100  rotates around a rotation axis C enabling pulling out or rewinding a cord  130  ( FIG. 2 ) which is wound around the reel body  113 . The cord reel  100  includes an upper housing  110 , a lower housing  120 , and the cord  130  wound around the reel body  113 . 
     The upper housing  110  has a box-like shape that is partially arc-shaped. The lower housing  120  has a substantially cylindrical shape and is formed to have a smaller XY plane area than the upper housing  110 . Given this configuration, when the cord reel  100  is inserted into the holder  200 , the lower housing  120  of the cord reel  100  can be prevented from contacting a side wall rib  260  of the holder  200  to be described later. 
     The upper housing  110  has an opening  111  opened toward the positive side of the X axis. The location where the opening  111  is to be formed is not in the center of the cord reel  100  in the Y axis direction but near either the positive side or the negative side in the Y axis direction. For example, in  FIG. 1 , one end of the cord  130  is pulled out from the opening  111  when the reel body  113  inside the cord reel  100  rotates in a rotational direction R 2 . For this reason, the opening  111  is located at a position close to the positive side of the Y axis of the cord reel  100 . 
     The cord  130  is pulled out from the opening  111  of the upper housing  110  and is rewound back therein by the rotation of the reel body  113 . The reel body  113  is biased by a spring or the like in a rotational direction opposite to the rotational direction R 2 . Other communication devices such as a handset connected to the cord  130  are where one end of the cord  130  withdrawn from the opening  111  is connected to. It is to be noted that although the illustration is omitted, the other end of the cord  130  is withdrawn from the upper housing  110  and connected to a power source or another communication device and fixed. 
     When a user uses a communication device such as a handset, the cord  130  is pulled causing the reel body  113  to rotate in the rotational direction R 2  against the biasing force, whereby the cord  130  is pulled out from the cord reel  100 . On the other hand, when the user releases the communication device, the reel body  113  is reversely rotated by the biasing force, and the cord  130  is rewound into the reel body  113 . 
     The lower housing  120  further includes, on the outer surface, three first engaging projections  121  ( 121 A to  121 C) for detachment prevention and two second engaging projections  122  ( 122 A and  122 B) for rotation prevention. Each of the first engaging projections  121  (an example of the first engaging part) protrudes in a direction (an example of a first direction) orthogonal to a rotation axis AX, that is, in the X axis direction or the Y axis direction. Each of the second engaging projections  122  (an example of the second engaging part) is formed at a different position from the first engaging projections  121  in the second direction along the rotation axis AX, that is, in the Z axis direction. The second engaging projections  122  are formed more to the positive side of the Z axis (upper side) than the first engaging projections  121 . A lower end part  120   b  of the lower housing  120  is smaller in diameter than an upper end part  120   a  thereof. The second engaging projection  122  protruding in the negative direction of the Z axis is formed by cutting out a portion of the large-diameter upper end part  120   a  in the positive direction of the Z axis. Such a configuration achieves downsizing of the entire cord reel  100 . 
     The length of each second engaging projection  122  in the circumferential direction of the cord reel  100  is longer than that of each of the first engaging projections  121 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the cord reel  100  may further include a projection  123  located on the outer surface of the cord reel  100  for fixing the upper housing  110  and the lower housing  120  together. 
     1-1-2. Configuration of Holder 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the lower side of the holder  200  and  FIG. 4  is a plan view of the upper side of the holder  200  according to the first exemplary embodiment. 
     The holder  200  includes a holder base  270  and a side wall rib  260  formed around the holder base  270 . The holder base  270  includes an opening  210  and notches  220  ( 220 A to  220 C). 
     The opening  210  is formed so as to enable the cord reel  100  to be inserted in the Z axis direction. 
     Three notches  220 A to  220 C are located along the outer periphery of the opening  210  of the holder base  270  and are formed at positions where the first engaging projections  121 A to  121 C can pass through in the Z axis direction. 
     Each of the notches  220  is formed shorter than the second engaging projections  122  of the cord reel  100 . Thus, this configuration prohibits the second engaging projections  122  but allows the first engaging projections  121  to pass through the notches  220  when the cord reel  100  is inserted into the opening  210 . 
     When the cord reel  100  is attached to the holder  200 , the holder base  270  is disposed between the first engaging projections  121 A to  121 C and the second engaging projections  122 A and  122 B in the Z axis direction. 
     The holder base  270  may include a rotation restriction protruding piece  230 . As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the rotation restriction protruding piece  230  (an example of a first rotation restricting part) is formed by a cut portion  231  which is formed by cutting out a part of the holder base  270  along the outer periphery of the opening  210 , and protrudes toward the negative side of the Z axis of the holder base  270 , that is, the lower side thereof. The rotation restriction protruding piece  230  is elastically deformable in the negative direction of the Z axis because of the cut portion  231 . The rotation restriction protruding piece  230  includes an inclined surface  233  capable of guiding the second engaging projections  122 . As will be described later, the rotation restriction protruding piece  230  restricts the rotation of the cord reel  100  with respect to the holder  200 . 
     The holder base  270  may include a rotation restricting damper  300 . The rotation restricting damper  300  (an example of a second rotation restricting part) is located on the outer periphery of the opening  210  of the holder base  270  and protrudes toward the negative side of the Z axis of the holder base  270 , that is, the lower side thereof. As will be described later, the rotation restricting damper  300  restricts the rotation of the cord reel  100  with respect to the holder  200 . The rotation restricting damper  300  may include an elastic member such as rubber or a spring supported by a holding portion (not shown in the drawings). As will be described later, the rotation restricting damper  300  can alleviate the impact generated by the rotational force applied when the cord of the cord reel  100  is pulled out. 
     The holder base  270  may include a thin rib  280 . The thin rib  280  (an example of a first rib) is located on the outer periphery of the opening  210 , and slightly protrudes toward the negative side of the Z axis of the holder base  270 , that is, the lower side thereof. The protruding height of the thin rib  280  is formed sufficiently shorter than the height of each first engaging projections  121 . As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , three thin ribs  280  are included and are disposed adjacent to one end side of the notches  220 , respectively, along the outer periphery of the opening  210 . Here, “one end side” is the edge of each notch  220  on the clockwise side when the holder  200  is viewed from the upper side as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . The thin ribs  280  are formed such that the end faces thereof in the Z axis direction have the same height. When the cord reel  100  is attached to the holder  200 , each of the first engaging projection  121 A to  121 C rides on the corresponding thin rib  280  and abuts on the thin rib  280  in the Z axis direction. That is, the thin ribs  280  are held between the holder base  270  and the first engaging projections  121 A to  121 C. With this configuration, the engagement in the Z axis direction when the cord reel  100  is attached to the holder  200  is stabilized, whereby rattling of the cord reel  100  can be prevented. 
     The holder base  270  may include a detent rib  240 . The detent rib  240  (an example of a second rib) protrudes on the outer periphery of the opening  210  toward the negative side of the Z axis of the holder base  270 , that is, the lower side thereof. As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , three detent ribs  240  are included, and are disposed adjacent to the other end side of the notches  220 , respectively, along the outer periphery of the opening  210 . Here, the “other end side” is the edge of each notch  220  on the counterclockwise side when the holder  200  is viewed from the upper side as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . As will be described later, the detent rib  240  restricts the rotation of the cord reel  100  relative to the holder  200 . 
     1-2. Operation 
     The attachment and detachment of the cord reel  100  and the holder  200  configured as described above will be described below. 
     1-2-1. Attaching Cord Reel to Holder 
       FIG. 5A  is a side view illustrating a state of the apparatus  1  according to the first exemplary embodiment in which the cord reel  100  is inserted into the opening  210  of the holder  200  in order to attach the cord reel  100  to the holder  200 .  FIG. 5B  is a plan view of the apparatus  1  of  FIG. 5A  along the XY plane (upper side). 
     An operator inserts the cord reel  100  into the opening  210  of the holder  200 . At this point, the positions of the first engaging projections  121 A to  121 C of the cord reel  100  and the notches  220 A to  220 C of the opening  210  of the holder  200  are matched in the XY plane. This insertion renders the first engaging projections  121 A to  121 C to pass through the notches  220 A to  220 C and the second engaging projections  122 A and  122 B to abut on the holder base  270 , thereby preventing further insertion. The result of this is, for example, the state as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
     When the insertion of the cord reel  100  into the holder  200  is completed, the cord reel  100  is rotated in a rotational direction R 1  as illustrated in  FIGS. 5A and 5B . Upon rotating the cord reel  100  in the rotational direction R 1 , the first engaging projections  121 A to  121 C are disengaged from the positions of the notches  220 A to  220 C, and the holder base  270  is sandwiched between the first engaging projections  121 A to  121 C and the second engaging projections  122 A and  122 B. At this time, as illustrated in  FIG. 5A , the second engaging projection  122 B is guided on the inclined surface  233  of the rotation restriction protruding piece  230 , and with this guidance, the rotation restriction protruding piece  230  is elastically deformed by being pushed in the negative direction of the Z axis, that is, downward. At the same time, the cord reel  100  receives an urging force in the positive direction of the Z axis, that is, the upper side, due to the rotation restriction protruding piece  230 , and thus the engaging force with the holder  200  is enhanced. As a result, the cord reel  100  is restricted from rotating in a rotational direction R 3  (direction opposite to the rotational direction R 1 ). On the other hand, at the position illustrated in  FIG. 5A , the cord reel  100  is rotatable in the rotational direction R 1 . 
     When the cord reel  100  is further rotated in the rotational direction R 1 , the first engaging projections  121 A to  121 C ride on the thin ribs  280  ( FIG. 4 ) located on the holder base  270 . Thus, the cord reel  100  is restricted from moving in the Z axis direction and rattling with respect to the holder  200  is prevented. Also, at this time, the rotation of the cord reel  100  in the rotational direction R 1  is restricted since the other first engaging projection  121 C ( FIG. 2 ) abuts the rotation restricting damper  300  ( FIG. 4 ). Furthermore, as illustrated in  FIG. 6A , the second engaging projection  122 B passes over the rotation restriction protruding piece  230 , and the rotation restriction protruding piece  230  elastically returns to the positive direction of the Z axis, that is, the upper side and abuts on the rear end of the second engaging projection  122 B. The rotation of the cord reel  100  in the rotational direction R 3  is thus restricted. As illustrated in  FIGS. 6A and 6B , the cord reel  100  is locked to the holder  200  and the attachment is completed by means of the above operation. 
     1-2-2. Detaching Cord Reel from Holder 
     When releasing the locked state of the cord reel  100  attached to the holder  200 , the operator first pushes the rotation restriction protruding piece  230  illustrated in  FIGS. 6A and 6B  in the negative direction of the Z axis, that is, downwards. The operator may then use an elongated tool such as a driver or tweezers. When the rotation restriction protruding piece  230  is pushed in the negative direction of the Z axis, the inclined surface  233  becomes substantially the same height as the holder base  270  in the XY plane which enables the code reel  100  to be rotated in the rotational direction R 3 . Upon rotating the cord reel  100  in the rotational direction R 3 , the first engaging projections  121 A to  121 C abut against the corresponding detent ribs  240  (refer to  FIG. 4 ). At this point, the first engaging projections  121 A to  121 C and the notches  220 A to  220 C are at positions where they overlap in the Z axis direction. The cord reel  100  can be removed from the holder  200  when pulled in the positive direction of the Z axis. 
     Note that the protruding end of the rotation restriction protruding piece  230  is on the side opposite (lower side) to the attachment side of the cord reel  100 . Therefore, when the cord reel  100  is locked to the holder  200  as illustrated in  FIG. 6A  and  FIG. 6B , unintended unlocking caused by a worker&#39;s finger or the surrounding products/wirings can be prevented. 
     1-2-3. Operation of Code Reel 
     In the state where the cord reel  100  illustrated in  FIGS. 6A and 6B  is locked to the holder  200 , the first engaging projection  121 C (refer to  FIG. 2 ) and the rotation restricting damper  300  (refer to  FIG. 4 ) are in contact with each other without a gap therebetween. Therefore, when the cord  130  is pulled out in a D 1  direction, the rotation restricting damper  300  is pushed and compressed by the first engaging projection  121 C rendering the cord reel  100  to slightly rotate in the rotational direction R 1 . When the pull-out operation of the cord  130  is stopped, the cord reel  100  receives a force in the rotational direction R 3  due to the elastic force of the rotation restricting damper  300  and is thereby returned to the locked state again. As described above, the cord reel  100  is elastically locked to the holder  200 , and therefore it is possible to prevent the impact generated by the initial motion of pulling out the cord  130  or when the pulling out of the cord  130  is stopped from being transmitted directly to the cord  130 . 
     Further, the rotational direction R 1  for attaching the cord reel  100  to the holder  200  is the same as the rotational direction R 2  of the cord reel  100  when the cord  130  is pulled out from the cord reel  100 . With this configuration, the pull-out operation of the cord  130  restricts the cord reel  100  from rotating in the direction in which the locking is released; hence a stable attachment structure of the cord reel  100  can be realized. 
     1-3. Features and Other Benefits 
     In the attachment structure of the cord reel  100  to the holder  200  according to the present exemplary embodiment, the first engaging projections  121  and the second engaging projections  122  are located at different positions in the direction of the rotation axis AX of the cord reel  100 , that is, the Z axis direction. When the cord reel  100  is attached to the holder  200 , the holder base  270  is disposed between the first engaging projection  121  and the second engaging projection  122  in the Z axis direction. Thus, the cord reel  100  can be stably attached to the holder  200 . 
     Further, in the present exemplary embodiment, a structure is achieved in which the cord reel  100  is rotated with respect to the holder  200  to lock the cord reel  100  to the holder  200  in the Z axis direction (attachment and detachment direction of the cord reel  100 ) and the rotational direction. Therefore, the cord reel  100  can be attached to the holder  200  without using a fastening part or a tool, and the time for attaching the cord reel  100  can be shortened. In addition, when employing the cord reel  100  in aircrafts, the loss of the fastening parts may lead to serious accidents such as affecting the operation of the aircraft. However, the attachment structure according to the present exemplary embodiment is capable of reducing the risk of losing the fastening parts. 
     2. Other Exemplary Embodiments 
     (1) In the apparatus  1  according to the first exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3 , the configuration is such that the rotation restriction protruding piece  230 , the rotation restricting damper  300 , the thin rib  280 , the detent rib  240 , and so forth are located on the lower side of the holder base  270 , but the configuration is not limited thereto. A configuration may be adopted in which some or all these projections are located on the upper side of the holder base  270  as described in the specification and drawings of Provisional Application No. 62/640,022 on which the present application is based on. In this case, when the cord reel  100  is attached to the holder  200 , the first engaging projections  121  are guided on the inclined surface  233  of the rotation restriction protruding piece  230 , whereby the pressing force of the first engaging projections  121  causes the rotation restriction protruding piece  230  to elastically deform upward, that is, in the positive direction of the Z axis. The second engaging projections  122  abut against the rotation restricting damper  300 , the thin rib  280 , and the detent rib  240 . The rotation restricting damper  300 , the thin rib  280 , and the detent rib  240  of the holder base  270 , and the second engaging projections  122  in the cord reel  100  are respectively located at predetermined positions where attachment and detachment of the cord reel  100  and the holder  200  is possible as in the first exemplary embodiment. 
     The number and positions of the first engaging projections  121  and the second engaging projections  122  of the cord reel  100  are not limited, and may be more or less than those in the first exemplary embodiment. The notches  220 , the rotation restriction protruding piece  230 , the rotation restricting damper  300 , the thin rib  280 , and the detent rib  240  are also located in accordance with the number and positions of the engaging projections. 
     GENERAL INTERPRETATION OF TERMS 
     In understanding the scope of the present disclosure, the term “configured” as used herein to describe a component, section, or a part of a device includes hardware and/or software that is constructed and/or programmed to carry out the desired function. 
     In understanding the scope of the present disclosure, the term “comprising” and its derivatives, as used herein, are intended to be open ended terms that specify the presence of the stated features, elements, components, groups, integers, and/or steps, but do not exclude the presence of other unstated features, elements, components, groups, integers and/or steps. The foregoing also applies to words having similar meanings such as the terms “including,” “having,” and their derivatives. Also, the terms “part,” “section,” “portion,” “member,” or “element” when used in the singular can have the dual meaning of a single part or a plurality of parts. Also as used herein to describe the above embodiment(s), the following directional terms “forward”, “rearward”, “above”, “downward”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “below” and “transverse” as well as any other similar directional terms refer to those directions of a device. The term “circumference” and its derivatives may include a distance or measurement around an outside or an inside of a circle, any other round shape, or any polygonal shape. 
     Terms that are expressed as “means-plus function” in the claims should include any structure that can be utilized to carry out the function of that part of the present disclosure. Finally, terms of degree such as “substantially,” “about,” and “approximately” as used herein mean a reasonable amount of deviation of the modified term such that the end result is not significantly changed. For example, these terms can be construed as including a deviation of at least ±5% of the modified term if this deviation would not negate the meaning of the word it modifies. 
     While only selected exemplary embodiments have been chosen to illustrate the present invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For example, the size, shape, location or orientation of the various components can be changed as needed and/or desired. Components that are shown directly connected or contacting each other can have intermediate structures disposed between them. The functions of one element can be performed by two, and vice versa. The structures and functions of one embodiment can be adopted in another embodiment. It is not necessary for all advantages to be present in a particular embodiment at the same time. Every feature which is unique from the prior art, alone or in combination with other features, also should be considered a separate description of further inventions by the applicant, including the structural and/or functional concepts embodied by such feature(s). Thus, the foregoing descriptions of the exemplary embodiments according to the present invention are provided for illustration only, and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. 
     REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 
       1  Apparatus 
       100  Cord Reel 
       110  Upper Housing 
       111  Opening 
       113  Reel Body 
       120  Lower Housing 
       120   a  Upper End Part 
       120   b  Lower End Part 
       121  ( 121 A to C) First Engaging Projection 
       122  ( 122 A 
     B) Second Engaging Projection 
       123  Projection 
       130  Cord 
       200  Holder 
       210  Opening 
       220  ( 220 A to  220 C) Notch 
       230  Rotation Restriction Protruding Piece 
       231  Cut Portion 
       233  Inclined Surface 
       240  Detent Rib 
       260  Side wall Rib 
       270  Holder Base 
       280  Thin Rib 
       300  Rotation Restricting Damper 
     AX Rotation Axis