Patent ID: 8170692

Claim:
A lead extension and retraction device, comprising: a housing having a tape opening; a shaft rotatably supported by the housing, the shaft including a lead attachment portion configured to selectively couple a lead to the shaft such that the lead is rotatable with the shaft; a shaft rotation mechanism configured to rotate the shaft through a predetermined angular travel with respect to the housing, wherein the shaft rotation mechanism comprises: a retractable tape positioned within the housing and wound around the shaft, the tape having a first end secured to the shaft and a second end extending through the tape opening so as to allow the second end to be selectively pulled away from the housing, wherein the tape is configured to unwind from and rotate the shaft when the second end is pulled away from the housing; a tape auto-retraction mechanism including a coiled spring configured to be tensioned when the tape is unwound and which allows the tape to rewind around the shaft when the tension is relieved; a locking mechanism including a ratchet wheel non-relatively rotatably coupled to the shaft and a pawl configured to selectively engage the ratchet wheel so as to lock the ratchet wheel and the shaft in a position relative to the housing to prevent auto-retraction of an unwound length of tape; and a release mechanism positioned on the housing and connected to the pawl, the release mechanism being configured to selectively release the pawl from the ratchet so as to allow the tape auto-retraction mechanism to retract the unwound length of tape.