Patent ID: 8251020

Claim:
A system for controlling unwinding of a pet leash, the system comprising: a housing which has an interior and an exterior; a spool in the interior of the housing wherein the spool has teeth and further wherein the spool rotates relative to the housing wherein the leash is connected to the spool; a swing gear in the interior of the housing wherein the swing gear has teeth which engage the teeth of the spool to rotate the swing gear in response to rotation of the spool; and a braking mechanism in the interior of the housing wherein the braking mechanism has teeth which engage the teeth of the swing gear to rotate the braking mechanism in response to rotation of the swing gear and further wherein the swing gear translates within a slot from a first position in which the braking mechanism is not engaged to a second position in which the braking mechanism is engaged wherein the swing gear translates from the first position to the second position based on the rotation speed of the spool.