Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/493,819, filed on Aug. 8, 2003. 

   STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   Not applicable. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Technical Field 
   The present invention relates to fish tapes of the type used by electricians to pull wire through conduit or other spaces, and more particularly to the fish tape reel assembly. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   A fish tape is a stiff but bendable wire, flexible rod or flat tape typically used to install wire in conduit, through existing walls, or other tight spaces. Because typical electrical wire is very flexible, pushing it through long lengths of conduit is virtually impossible. Pulling wire along the desired path is much more effective. In order to pull the wire, a fish tape, being more rigid than electrical wire, is first pushed along the desired path. Once an end of the fish tape reaches the end of the desired path, the electrical wire is attached to the fish tape end, and the fish tape is retrieved which pulls the wire with it. 
   The fish tape is typically coiled inside of a reel assembly. For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,780 has a generally annular tape receiving chamber bounded at its periphery by a pair of opposed lips, which separate to permit winding and unwinding of the fish tape in the chamber. A handle having a tape passage is mounted between the lips, which provides passage of the tape out of and into the receiving chamber. This reel arrangement makes it somewhat difficult to wind and unwind the tape. Given the relative rigid and springy characteristics of the fish tape, coiling the fish tape can require significant force and can be time consuming and frustrating, particularly if the tape binds inside of the reel. Moreover, initial assembly or reattachment of the fish tape to the reel may require the reel to be disassembled in order to anchor one end of the tape to an interior wall. And, once the tape coiled in the chamber the reel must be assembled (or reassembled) without the coil coming undone. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,038 provides a solution to the winding and assembly difficulties associated with conventional fish tape reels, as in the above mentioned patent. In this patent, the fish tape is contained in a cassette that loads easily into the main body of the reel. The cassette has its own handle for rotating the cassette relative to the reel body and thereby wind and unwind the tape. While this design provides significant benefits over other conventional fish tape reels, it lack ergonomic features that make it comfortable to operate. 
   One common problem with conventional fish tape reels is that the handle, as in U.S. Des. Pat. No. D408,749, is ordinarily a carrying handle for transporting the reel to and from a job site, for example, rather than being something to grip and brace the reel when unwinding, and especially, when winding the fish tape. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,609 discloses a purportedly ergonomic fish tape reel with a “pistol grip” handle. The pistol grip handle is beneficial because it permits the user to grasp the reel during the winding and unwinding processes with the user&#39;s wrist generally straight and in line with the forearm, thereby reducing strain on the user&#39;s wrist. However, the disclosed reel coils the fish tape in a cavity located horizontally behind the handle such that the reel would tend to cock back under the force of gravity and forces generated during the winding and unwinding processes such that user&#39;s wrist will have to overcome these forces, thereby straining the user&#39;s wrist. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 2,743,884 discloses a different approach to aiding the user in the winding process. In particular, this patent discloses a threader element that fits in the chamber between the opposite sides of the reel. The threader has an elongated body with a passageway through which the fish tape feeds into and out of the reel and a forward leaning handle extending up from the body. The threader is held fixed by the user and the rest of the reel is rotated by hand to wind the fish tape. The threader extends as a chord across an upper interior part of the reel diameter. By virtue of the force of gravity moving the reel downward and the spring force of the fish tape biasing the threader upward, the threader will assume this position during use almost in variably, with only slight difference in relative position. This location, in which the handle of the threader is positioned at a front side of the reel, is disadvantageous because the weight of the reel will tend to cause the wrist to cock backward, especially when winding the fish tape. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,040 discloses a fish tape device with a vertically oriented handle on a rear side of the reel assembly, with the tape dispensed through an opening on the other side of the reel assembly. This device is adapted with cam members for gripping and pulling, as when retrieving a wire, fish tape that was previously unwound from the reel assembly. This handle would cock the user&#39;s wrist forward and downward in use in order to support the reel assembly. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is a fish tape device with improved ergonomics and features designed to facilitate winding the fish tape onto the reel assembly. 
   In particular, the present invention provides a fish tape reel assembly disposed about a center axis and along first and second sides of a center line intersecting and extending perpendicularly to the center axis. A housing defines a cavity concentric about the center axis and disposed between an outer periphery of the housing and inner periphery of the housing, which defines a central opening through which the center axis extends. A handle member has a retainer shoe captured within the housing so as to be rotatable about the center axis with respect to the housing. The handle member defines an exit aperture at the first side of the center line in communication with the cavity such that fish tape can be wound within the cavity, with one end fixed to the housing and an opposite end extending outside of the housing. The pistol grip is located at the second side of the center line and oriented so as to balance the weight of the assembly with the user&#39;s wrist in a neutral position, generally straight and horizontal. The fish tape is wound within the cavity by rotating the housing about the center axis with respect to the handle member. 
   The location of the pistol grip allows the reel assembly housing (and fish tape) to be suspended beneath the pistol grip in an orientation, under its own weight, for grasping the pistol grip with an essentially straight wrist. 
   In preferred forms, the pistol grip extends at least about three inches to a free end not connected to the housing at an angle less then ninety degrees from a tangent line intersecting the pistol grip and the housing. The pistol grip defines a convex palm rest and a convex finger grip both of which have raised ribs. The pistol grip also has a contoured head at the free end for engaging a user&#39;s index finger to inhibit the grip from sliding through the user&#39;s hand. 
   In other preferred forms, the housing defines a circular peripheral groove radially outside of the cavity in which the retainer shoe, preferably forming an axially split band or more preferably a continuous arcuate band, is disposed such that it is isolated from the fish tape other than at the exit aperture. The housing defines a convex outer surface between the inner and outer peripheries and is comprised of two annular housing parts connected by threaded fasteners. The inner periphery of the housing defines at least one, and preferably three spaced apart 120 degrees, hand grip(s) adjacent the central opening having a convex shape at least about three inches long and having raised ribs. The inner periphery also defines one or more hand stops adjacent the hand grip(s) for physical abutment with one&#39;s hand during winding. 
   In another aspect the invention provides a fish tape apparatus which includes a reel assembly as described above and a winder mechanism. The winder has a hub adapted to engage the inner periphery of the housing and has a handle adapted to rotate the hub and thereby the housing about the center axis relative to the reel assembly handle member for winding the fish tape within the cavity. 
   In preferred forms, the winder includes a clutch such that rotating the winder handle in one direction rotates the housing with respect to its handle member to wind the fish tape, and rotating the winder handle in an opposite direction does not cause the housing to rotate relative to the handle member. The clutch is preferably a conventional drawn cup roller clutch available commercially. Also, the winder is removably mounted to the inner periphery of the reel assembly housing. Even more preferably the winder hub can be spaced from at least one interior grip surface of the inner periphery of the reel assembly housing so that the housing can also be rotated by grasping the grip. 
   Another aspect of the invention provides a method of assembling a fish tape reel assembly. The method includes joining two annular housing parts with a handle member therebetween. The handle member has a spacer abutting surfaces of the housing parts to provide a gap in communication with an exit aperture of the handle member and the cavity defined when the housing parts are joined. With these components fully assembled, the method continues by feeding an anchor end of a fish tape through the exit aperture and between the housing parts. The anchor end of the fish tape is then attached to a pin element in the housing and the fish tape is wound within the cavity. 
   In preferred forms, at least one of the housing parts includes a window proximate to the pin element for visual inspection during attachment of the fish tape to the pin element. Also, the pin element is preferably a threaded fastener used to join the housing parts and the spacer is severed by the housing parts during the winding operation. 
   These and still other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings. What follows is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. To assess the full scope of the invention the claims should be looked to as the preferred embodiment is not intended as the only embodiment within the scope of the invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a fish tape reel assembly according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view thereof; 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view thereof; 
       FIG. 4  is a side plan view thereof; 
       FIG. 5  is an end view thereof; 
       FIG. 6  is an end sectional view taken along line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 7  is a side sectional view taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 5 ; 
       FIG. 8  is an enlarged partial sectional view taken along line  8 - 8  of  FIG. 7 ; 
       FIG. 9  is an enlarged partial sectional view taken along arc  9 - 9  of  FIG. 7 ; 
       FIG. 10  is a side plan view of the fish tape reel assembly and a manual winder mechanism; 
       FIG. 10  is an end plan view thereof; 
       FIG. 12  is one perspective view thereof; 
       FIG. 13  is another perspective view thereof; and 
       FIG. 14  is a rear perspective view of the fish tape reel assembly and another embodiment of the winder in which the hub defines openings that allow the user to manually grasp grips at the inner periphery of the reel assembly. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   The drawings referenced herein illustrate a preferred version of a fish tape reel assembly  20 . Referring to  FIGS. 1-5 , the reel assembly  20  includes a reel housing  24  having two annular housing parts  26  and  27  made of a rigid plastic, such as nylon or polypropylene, using any suitable molding technique, such as injection molding. The housing parts  26  and  27  each have a convex annular wall  28  that tapers from an inner peripheral wall  30 , configured as discussed in detail below, to a circular outer peripheral wall  32 . The housing parts  26  and  27  are concentric about a center axis  34  passing through the middle of a center opening  36  defined by the inner peripheral wall  30 . When the housing parts  26  and  27  are joined, the inner peripheral walls  30  define an inner periphery  35  with three convex hand stops  37  spaced equally about the center axis  34  and interposed between three equally spaced convex inner hand grips  39  of a larger radius than the stops  37 . Preferably, the inner periphery  35  is overmolded with a tactile rubber or elastomer material for improved grip and comfort. 
   The interior of each housing part  26  and  27  is also formed with two interior circular walls  38  and  40 . The interior walls  38  and  40  divide the interior of the housing  24  (when the housing parts  26  and  27  are joined) into an annular cavity  42  between the interior walls  38  and  40  and an annular groove  44  between interior wall  40  and the outer peripheral wall  32 . Rib structures  46  extend between the inner peripheral wall  30  and interior wall  38  to support these walls with less material than if this area was solid. Each annular wall  28  has three oblong openings or windows  48 , spaced equally about the center axis  34 , that allow visual inspection inside the annular cavity  42  where three threaded fasteners  50  extend to join the housing parts  26  and  27  together. 
   Referring to  FIG. 7 , the annular cavity  42  contains a coil of fish tape  52 . The fish tape  52  is preferably an elongated flat metal or fiberglass tape wrapped about the interior wall  38 . Although a flat tape is preferred, any shaped tape, such as a round tape, may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. As shown in  FIGS. 7 and 9 , an anchor end  51  of the fish tape  52  is bent backward in a “U” or hairpin shape and looped around one of the fasteners  50  to anchor the fish tape  52  to the housing  24 . The fish tape  52  is preferably assembled and anchored to the housing  24  after the two housing parts  26  and  27  are bolted together. The windows  48  allow the assembler a clear view of the fasteners  50  to facilitate in anchoring the fish tape  52 . A free end  54  of the fish tape  52  extends from between the two housing parts  26  and  27  to the outside of the reel housing  24 . The free end  54  is preferably bent back, as shown, or mounts an enlarged end piece (not shown) to prevent the free end  54  from entering the interior of the housing  24 . 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 1 ,  3  and  6 - 8 , the reel housing  24  is held by a specially designed reel handle  60  that allows the reel housing  24  to be rotated about the center axis  34 . The reel handle  60  has a shoe  62 , that is generally a split ring or arcuate band slidably captured between the housing parts  26  and  27  within the annular groove  44  so as to be isolated from the fish tape  52  within the annular cavity  42 . Preferably, the shoe  62  forms a continuous band which significantly improves its overall strength, and particularly its drop strength, so that the shoe is less likely to be damaged by impact to the reel housing  24  or reel handle  60 . Depending inwardly from the shoe  62  is a small keel feature  64  (shown best in  FIG. 8 ), which spaces apart the housing parts  26  and  27  when bolted together to provide a gap for the fish tape  52  to pass through from the annular cavity  42 . The keel  64  may be partially worn down (so as not to extend into the annular cavity  42 ) by friction from contact with the fish tape  52  during initial assembly in which an automated high speed winder (as known in the art) is used to coil the fish tape  52  inside the annular cavity  42 . 
   The reel handle  60  has an exterior section  66  at the top of the reel assembly  20  that defines an exit aperture  68  and a hanger  70  and from which extends a pistol grip  72 . The exit aperture  68  is an opening or passageway that extends generally tangentially from the annular cavity  42  to guide the fish tape  52  along the intended feed direction, which is essentially perpendicular to a vertical center line  74  passing vertically through the middle of the hanger  70 . The exit aperture  68  is located toward a forward side (left in  FIG. 7 ) of the center line  74 . The hanger  70  simply forms a bounded opening  76  sized for a nail or conventional peg board hook so that the reel assembly  20  can be suspended from a wall or a display rack. 
   The pistol grip  72  is located at a rear or aft side of the center line  74 , opposite that of the exit aperture  68 . The pistol grip  72  leans forward from its base and extends generally tangentially, at an angle less than 90 degrees, from the housing  24  to a free end  78 , which preferably remains behind the center line  74  (as shown in  FIG. 4 ). The pistol grip  72  is generally oblong in cross-section and forms a convex palm rest  80  and a convex finger grip  82 . Raised lateral ribs  84  are formed in these areas to improve the grip. A head  86  at the free end  72  of the pistol grip  72  hooks over the user&#39;s index finger which is cupped in a concave surface  88  adjacent to the finger grip  82 . The length of the pistol grip  72  is preferably sufficient to allow it to be grasped comfortably between all four fingers and the palm. This distance is generally about 4-5 inches and preferably at least about 3 inches. For added strength, the pistol grip  72  may be molded about a steel plate  90  (see  FIG. 7 ), and for added comfort and tactility, the pistol grip  72  may be overmolded with a rubber or elastomer. 
   The contour, length and location on the housing  24  all contribute to making the pistol grip  72  ergonomic and comfortable to hold when using the reel assembly  20 . The rearward location of the pistol grip  72  allows the reel assembly  20  to be oriented as shown in  FIG. 4  when held by the pistol grip  72 . In this orientation, the user grasping the pistol grip  72  with one hand can support the reel assembly  20  with a straight wrist and forearm, generally parallel to the horizon and to the generally horizontal feed direction of the fish tape  52 . This reduces strain on the wrist and hand because in this orientation the reel assembly  20  does not tend to bend back the user&#39;s wrist. In fact, the pistol grip  72  is oriented so that the weight of the reel assembly is balanced such that a user grasping the pistol grip  72  will have his wrist essentially straightened and horizontal in a neutral balanced position of the pistol grip  72 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . Moreover, the fish tape  52  is wound into the reel housing  24  (in a clockwise direction in  FIG. 4 ) such that the force required to wind the fish tape  52  will tend to seat the palm rest  80  of the pistol grip  72  straight back against the user&#39;s palm, which helps the user to maintain a firm grip without undue strain. Also, guiding the fish tape  52  along a feed direction substantially perpendicular to the center line and parallel to the ground and the user&#39;s forearm reduces twisting and strain on the user&#39;s hand and wrist. 
   The reel assembly  20  is operated, preferably by grasping the pistol grip  72  and holding the reel assembly  20  generally stationary with the wrist held straight and the forearm parallel to the ground, for example with a right hand. And, with the other hand, the free end of the fish tape  52  is pulled along the feed direction away from the reel housing  24  and guided along the desired path. The fish tape  52  is wound back into the annular cavity  42  of the reel housing  24  by putting the free hand within the center opening  36  and grasping one of the hand grips  39 . Holding onto one of the grips  39  and moving the housing  24  in a circular clockwise path (as shown in  FIG. 4  ) about the center axis  34  winds the fish tape  52 . Preferably, the hand grip  39  near the top middle of the reel housing  24  would be grasped and rotated downward and toward the user&#39;s body preferably in the range of 90 to 150 degrees, and more preferably about 120 degrees, about the center axis  34 . Then, after that stroke is completed, the user would grasp another grip at the top middle of the reel housing  24  and rotate it again, repeating this as necessary until the fish tape  52  is wound completely, or as far as desired, within the reel housing  24 . 
   Note that the user need not grasp the hand grips  39  with much force since the stops  37  at the inner periphery  35  will abut the bottom side of the user&#39;s hand (from which the user&#39;s little finger extends) and thereby assist in engaging the user&#39;s hand and the reel housing  24 . The overmold and the convex contour of the reel housing  24  also improve the comfort and ergonomics at the inner grips  39 . Moreover, the convex shape of the annular walls  28  of the housing increase the capacity (around 25-30 percent over straight walled reel housings) of the annular cavity  42 , which can hold 50, 100 or 200 feet of fish tape  52  depending on the overall diameter of the reel housing  24 , without making the grips  39  too wide to be comfortable. 
   The reel assembly  20  can be used with a manual winder mechanism  22  as an alternative to winding the fish tape by grasping the inner grips  39 . The winder mechanism  22  is described in detail in co-pending application entitled “Fish Tape Winder” co-owned by the assignee of the present invention and hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein. The winder mechanism  22  will now be described only briefly now. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 10-13 , the winder mechanism  22  includes a plastic hub  124 , a plastic winder handle  126 , a steel shaft  128  and a roller clutch (not shown). All of these components are assembled so as to be disposed along and/or concentric the center axis  34 , shown in  FIG. 3 . 
   As shown, the winder  22  fits into the center opening  36  of the reel assembly  22  from one side so that the hub  124  is disposed inside the inner periphery  35  of the reel assembly  20  such that concave sprocket sections  138  cup the convex stops  37  and concave spanning sections  140  cup the inner grips  39 . A peripheral flange  152  of the hub  124  will abut the side of housing part  27  and spring tabs  148  will “snap” over and dip onto an edge of the inner periphery  35  at the opposite housing part  26  to retain the winder  22  to the reel assembly  20 . 
   The fish tape reel and winder assembly is preferably used by manually pulling the free end of the fish tape  52  away from the reel assembly  20  to unwind the desired length of fish tape  52 , which is guided along the desired path. The fish tape  52  is wound back within the reel assembly  20  by grasping the pistol grip  72  and holding the reel assembly  20  generally stationary with the wrist held straight and the forearm parallel to the ground. Then, the user pulls back on the winder handle  126  with the other hand, moving it in a circular path toward the user&#39;s body at the top of the stroke, counterclockwise in the drawings, so as to rotate the housing  24  this direction. Since the fish tape  52  is anchored to the housing  24  this action winds the fish tape  52  inside the annular cavity  42  (see  FIG. 9 ) of the reel assembly  20 . The stroke travel of the winder handle  126  is preferably about  120  degrees and then ratcheted back in the opposite rotational direction, which disengages the roller clutch (not shown) so it does not rotate the reel assembly housing  24  with respect to the reel handle  60 . 
     FIG. 14  shows an alternate embodiment of the winder mechanism  22 A including the same components as described above except that the hub  124 A has a different configuration designed to provide openings  200  allowing the user to grasp hand grips  39 A of the reel assembly  22 A without removing the winder  22 A from the reel assembly  20 A. 
   It should be appreciated that merely a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described above. However, many modifications and variations to the preferred embodiment will be apparent to those skilled in the art, which will be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention should not be limited to the described embodiment. To ascertain the full scope of the invention, the following claims should be referenced.

Technology Category: 5