Tape measure having spring module

Abstract

The present invention comprises: a housing; a bobbin that rotates inside the housing; a blade wound around the winding surface of the bobbin, and pulled out to the outside or retracted into the interior through an entrance in the housing; and a spring module comprising a spring housing, a rotary shaft accommodated therein, and a spring that connects the rotary shaft and spring housing. The force of the spring can be transmitted to the bobbin via the rotary shaft, and using the spring module facilitates assembly and replacements of the rotary shaft and spring.

Description

[0001]

specification

[0002]

Title of invention

[0003]

Technical Field

[0004]

Background Technology of the Invention

[0005]

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0006] [Technical Problem] The present invention provides a tape measure capable of reinforcing the force of a spring while arranging the spring on the side. The present invention provides a tape measure capable of reinforcing the force of a spring by connecting two or more springs in parallel to one rotational axis. The present invention provides a miniaturized tape measure by efficiently utilizing the space inside a housing. The present invention provides a tape measure capable of preventing bias of the rotational axis by connecting two or more springs in parallel to one rotational axis while forming a balance between the springs.

[0007]

Technical Solution

[0008]

Effect of the invention

[0009] [Brief description of drawings] Fig. 1 is a drawing for explaining a tape measure according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a drawing for explaining a cross-section AA of the tape measure of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a drawing for explaining an exploded structure of the tape measure of Fig. 1. Figs. 4 and 5 are drawings for explaining a spring module of the tape measure of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a drawing for explaining a spring housing of Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a drawing for explaining a cross-section of a tape measure according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figs. 8 and 9 are drawings for explaining a spring module of the tape measure of Fig. 7. Fig. 10 is a drawing for explaining a spring housing of Fig. 8. Fig. 11 is a drawing for explaining a connection between a rotation shaft and a spring in a tape measure according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 12 is a drawing for explaining a cross-section of a tape measure according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figs. 13 and 14 are drawings for explaining an exploded structure of the tape measure of Fig. 12. Fig. 15 is a drawing for explaining the combination of the first housing and the spring module of Fig. 13. Fig. 16 is a drawing for explaining the replacement of the spring module of the ruler of Fig. 12. Fig. 17 is a drawing for comparing the spring modules of the ruler according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] [Mode for carrying out the invention] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings, but the present invention is not limited or restricted by the embodiments. For reference, in this description, the same numbers refer to substantially the same elements, and under this rule, the contents described in other drawings may be cited and described, and the contents that are judged to be obvious to a person skilled in the art or are repeated may be omitted. FIG. 1 is a drawing for explaining a tape measure according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a drawing for explaining a cross-section AA of the tape measure of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a drawing for explaining an exploded structure of the tape measure of FIG. 1, FIGS. 4 and 5 are drawings for explaining a spring module of the tape measure of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a drawing for explaining a spring housing of FIG. 4. Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6, a tape measure (100) according to the present embodiment may include a housing (105), a rotation shaft (150), a bobbin (140), a blade (130), a spring (170), and a gear train (190). The blade (130) is wound around a winding surface (142) of the bobbin (140), and may be withdrawn to the outside through an inlet of the housing (105) for length measurement or may be wound around an outer surface of the bobbin (140) and stored while being brought in for storage. As in the past, a spring may be used to bring the blade (130) into the housing (105). The housing (105) may be provided using a first housing (110) and a second housing (120). The first housing (110) covers one side of the bobbin (140) and may cover the side where the spring (170) is arranged, and the second housing (120) covers the other side of the bobbin (140) and may cover the side where the gear train (190) is arranged. The first housing (110) and the second housing (120) may be coupled to each other to form one housing (105).A rotary shaft (150) is rotatably mounted at the center of the housing (105) and is connected to a spring (170) arranged on the side along the direction of the shaft, and a distal end (154) of the rotary shaft (150) located far from the spring (170) can be interlocked with a bobbin (140) via a gear train (190). The spring (170) is provided on one side of the bobbin (140) where the first housing (110) is located, and can be interposed between the housing (105) and the bobbin (140). One end of the spring (170) can be fixed to the first housing (110), and the other end can be coupled to the rotary shaft (150). In the present embodiment, the spring (170) is positioned inside the spring housing (180) of the spring module (160), is connected to the spring housing (180), and the spring housing (180) can be fixed to the housing (105). Therefore, the spring (170) can be indirectly fixed to the first housing (110) through the spring housing (180). In addition, since the blade (130) is wound from the winding surface (142), if the diameter of the winding surface (142) is too small, it may rather cause damage to the blade (130). Therefore, in order to protect the blade (130), it is preferable that the winding surface (142) be formed so that its outer diameter is more than twice the outer diameter of the rotational shaft (150). The outer diameter of the winding surface (142) may be formed to be 2 to 6 times that of the rotation shaft (150), and a space may be created between the rotation shaft (150) and the bobbin (140). The spring module (160) is a packaged configuration of a rotation shaft (150) and a spring (170) mounted inside a spring housing (180) and a housing cover (116), and the spring housing (180) may be formed of a metal plate, may be formed by a hollow cylinder portion (182) and a hollow disk portion (184), and may have an overall T-shaped cross-section.In the spring housing (180), the rotation shaft (150) is disposed through the center, and the spring (170) is accommodated in a hollow disk portion (184), and one end may be fixed to the rotation shaft (150) and the other end may be fixed to the inner wall of the hollow disk portion (184). In the present embodiment, the screen housing (105) may have a slit (186) formed along the inner wall of the disk portion (184), and an end of the spring (170) may be fixed using the slit (186). With the spring accommodated in the screen housing (105), the housing cover (116) may cover the open surface of the screen housing (105) to form a spring module (160). In the present embodiment, the spring module (160) may be inserted from the outside of the first housing (110) and fixed. To this end, a hollow cylinder hub (114) protruding inward from the center into which a main body (112) and a spring module (160) can be inserted can be formed in the first housing (110), and the interior of the cylinder hub (114) can be in close contact with the cylinder portion (182) of the spring module (160) so that the rotary shaft (150) can be introduced into the bobbin (140). A through hole through which the distal end (154) of the rotary shaft (150) can protrude is formed at the end of the cylinder portion (182) in the spring housing (180), and the distal end (154) of the rotary shaft (150) can be exposed through the through hole. As the spring module (160) is coupled to the first housing (110), the distal end (154) of the rotation shaft (150) can also pass through the hollow cylinder hub (114) and enter the interior of the first housing (110) and the second housing (120). The rotation shaft (150) may further include a flange (152) to distinguish between the cylinder portion (182) and the disk portion (184) of the spring housing (180). The space of the spring housing (180) can be divided into two spaces (183, 185) by the flange (152).A protrusion (188) can be formed on the outer surface of the spring housing (180), and the spring housing (180) can be fixed so as not to rotate with respect to the first housing (110) by being coupled to the first housing (110) or the housing cover (116). By fixing the spring housing (180) to the first housing (110) in this way, the spring (170) can be fixed to the housing (105). The distal end (154) of the rotation shaft (150) can pass through the cylinder hub (114) of the first housing (110) and be connected to a gear train (190) provided between the second housing (120) and the bobbin (140). The distal end (154) of the rotation shaft (150) may be formed non-circularly and may be engaged with a first gear (192) located at the center of a gear train (190). In the gear train (190), the first gear (192) may be engaged with a second gear (194) located around the first gear (192), and the second gear (194) may be connected to a third gear (196) that is coupled with a bobbin (140). In the present embodiment, the third gear (196) may be integrally formed on one side of the bobbin (140) so as to mount the bobbin (140) on the cylinder hub (114) and engage with the second gear (194) while coupling the second housing (120) to the first housing (110). In the present embodiment, the second gear (194) is fixed to the second housing (120) and can only rotate without changing its position. The second housing (120) may include a gear cover (122) for protecting the first gear (192) and the second gear (194), and a hole may be formed at the center of the gear cover (122) through which the third gear (196) of the bobbin (140) and the distal end (154) of the rotational shaft (150) can enter. The rotational speed of the bobbin (140) may be designed to be greater than the rotational speed of the rotational shaft (150) by the gear train (190).Even if the rotational speed of the rotary shaft (150) is reduced, the force is prevented from being weakened by forming a strong parallel spring combination, and the spring space can be further reduced than before by using a strong parallel spring combination. In the present embodiment, the bobbin (140) and the rotary shaft (150) may be connected without a spring through a gear train (190). However, in some cases, the bobbin and the rotary shaft may be directly connected one-to-one regardless of the reduction, and the structure connecting the rotary shaft and the bobbin may also use various methods such as a belt in addition to gears. The first housing (110) may rotatably support the bobbin (140) using the cylinder hub (114) while the spring module (160) may be inserted and fixed from the outside of the first housing (110). Since the spring module (160) includes the rotation shaft (150) and the spring (170) as a package, it is easy to separate the spring module (160) from the first housing (110) and repair or replace it when the spring function deteriorates or breaks down. FIG. 7 is a drawing for explaining a cross-section of a tape measure according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 8 and 9 are drawings for explaining the spring module of the tape measure of FIG. 7, and FIG. 10 is a drawing for explaining the spring housing of FIG. 8. Referring to FIGS. 7 to 10, the tape measure according to the present embodiment may include a housing (105), a rotation shaft (150), a bobbin (140), a blade (130), a spring (170), an additional elastic body (175), and a gear train (190). Compared to the previous embodiment, the ruler of this embodiment further includes a spring module (160) with an additional elastic body (175), and the additional elastic body (175) can reinforce the restoring force of the spring (170). For a description of other similar configurations, refer to the description of the previous embodiment.The rotary shaft (150) is rotatably mounted at the center of the housing (105), and is connected to a spring (170) and an additional elastic body (175) along the direction of the shaft, and can be interlocked with the bobbin (140) through a gear train (190). In the present embodiment, the additional elastic body (175) can be provided as a spiral spring identical to the spring (170), and has the same winding direction so as to provide a restoring force together with the spring (170) in the same direction. The additional elastic body (175) is located inside the bobbin (140) and can be interposed between the bobbin (140) and the rotation shaft (150). One end of the additional elastic body (175) can be fixed to the first housing (110) through the spring housing (180'), and the other end can be coupled to the rotation shaft (150). In this embodiment, the spring (170) and the additional elastic body (175) are positioned inside the spring housing (180') of the spring module (160), are connected to the spring housing (180'), and the spring housing (180') can be fixed to the housing (105). Accordingly, the spring (170) and the additional elastic body (175) can be indirectly fixed to the first housing (110) through the spring housing (180'). In this embodiment, one spring (170) and one additional elastic body (175) are connected to one rotation shaft (150), but in some cases, a plurality of identical or similar springs or additional elastic bodies may be provided, and in this case, each spring and additional elastic body can be connected to the rotation shaft (150) and the housing (105) in parallel, and the force of the springs can be mutually reinforced through the mutual parallel connection. The additional elastic body (175) can reduce the width of the spring (170) to assist the force, and the internal space of the bobbin (140), which can be empty, can be efficiently utilized. The additional elastic body (175) allows the side space for the spring (170) and the internal space of the bobbin (140) to be efficiently utilized, and can contribute to the overall miniaturization of the tape measure.In addition, since the blade (130) is wound from the winding surface (142), if the diameter of the winding surface (142) is too small, it may cause damage to the blade (130). Therefore, in order to protect the blade (130), it is preferable that the winding surface (142) be formed with an outer diameter that is more than twice the outer diameter of the rotation shaft (150). When the outer diameter of the winding surface (142) is formed to be 2 to 6 times that of the rotation shaft (150), a space may be created between the rotation shaft (150) and the bobbin (140). By arranging an additional elastic body (175) there, the additional elastic body (175) can assist the force that the spring (170) must bear. In the present embodiment, the spring (170) and the additional elastic body (175) can be wound in the same direction with respect to the rotation shaft (150). In addition, the winding of the rotary shaft (150) is applied simultaneously to the spring (170) and the additional elastic body (175), and when either one is completely released or can no longer be wound, the entire rotary shaft (150) may not move. The spring module (160) is a packaged configuration of the rotary shaft (150), the additional elastic body (175), and the spring (170) mounted inside the spring housing (180') and the housing cover (116), and the spring housing (180') may be formed of a metal plate, may be formed by a hollow cylinder portion (182) and a hollow disk portion (184), and may have an overall T-shaped cross-section. In the spring housing (180'), a rotational axis (150) is disposed through the center, and an additional elastic body (175) is accommodated in a hollow cylindrical portion (182), one end of which is fixed to the rotational axis (150) and the other end of which can be fixed to the inner wall of the hollow cylindrical portion (182). In addition, a spring (170) may be accommodated in a hollow disk portion (184), one end of which is fixed to the rotational axis (150) and the other end of which can be fixed to the inner wall of the hollow disk portion (184).In this embodiment, a slit (186') may be formed along the inner wall of the screen housing (105) that passes through the entirety of the cylinder portion (182) and the disk portion (184), and an end of an additional elastic body (175) and a spring (170) may be fixed using this slit (186'). The first housing (110) may rotatably support the bobbin (140) using the cylinder hub (114), while the spring module (160) may be inserted and fixed from the outside of the first housing (110). In addition, a spring housing (180') may be provided separately so that the additional elastic body (175) may be fixed to the first housing (110) through the spring housing (180'). Since the spring module (160) includes the rotation shaft (150), the additional elastic body (175), and the spring (170) as a package, it is easy to separate the spring module (160) from the first housing (110) and repair or replace it when the spring function deteriorates or breaks down. FIG. 11 is a drawing for explaining the connection of the rotation shaft and the spring in a ruler according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 11, the additional elastic body (175) on the rotation shaft (150) can be fixed to the side with the distal end (154) centered on the flange (152), and the spring (170) can be fixed to the side with the proximal end centered on the flange (152). In addition, the average thickness (Ts) of the spring (170) can be formed thicker than the average thickness (Ti) of the additional elastic body (175). The width (Wi) of the additional elastic body (175) can be formed to be 2 to 5 times greater than the width (Ws) of the spring (170). The spring (170) and the additional elastic body (175) may be connected to the same side with respect to the center of the rotation axis (150) (a), but the spring (170) and the additional elastic body (175) may be connected to the rotation axis (150) in opposite directions (b).In the case of three springs or additional elastic bodies, they can be appropriately arranged so that about 120 degrees or the force from the springs is evenly distributed according to their distribution. In this embodiment, the spring (170) can generate sufficient force with a maximum outer diameter (Ds) of about 60 to 95% of the maximum outer diameter (Db) of the bobbin (140), and for this purpose, the width (Ws) and thickness (Ts) of the spring (170) can be appropriately adjusted. Through this process, there is no need to expand the outer diameter of the spring (170) to be the same as the outer diameter of the bobbin, and for this purpose, the additional elastic body (175) can provide a condition in which the outer diameter of the spring (170) does not have to be expanded more than necessary. In addition, by forming the outer diameter (Ds) of the spring (170) smaller than the outer diameter (Db) of the bobbin (140), the housing design can be designed so that the center of the housing is thicker than the periphery, making it easy for a worker to grip by hand. In this embodiment, the ratio of the diameter of the winding surface (142) of the bobbin (140), the winding diameter (Dw), to the outer diameter (Dx) of the rotation shaft (150) can be maintained at about 200 to 600%. Through this, a space separated between the winding surface (142) and the rotation shaft (150) can be formed, and the effects of preventing damage to the blade and reinforcing the spring through the additional elastic body (175) can be expected. FIG. 12 is a drawing for explaining a cross-section of a tape measure according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 13 and 14 are drawings for explaining an exploded structure of the tape measure of FIG. 12, FIG. 15 is a drawing for explaining the combination of the first housing and the spring module of FIG. 13, and FIG. 16 is a drawing for explaining the replacement of the spring module of the tape measure of FIG. 12. Referring to FIGS. 12 to 16, the ruler (200) according to the present embodiment may include a housing (210, 220), a rotation shaft (250), a bobbin (240), a blade (230), a spring (270), an additional elastic body (275), and a gear train (290).The blade (230) is wound on the winding surface (242) of the bobbin (240) and can be pulled out or withdrawn through the inlet of the housing. The housing is provided using a first housing (210) and a second housing (220), and a spring module (260) can be mounted on the first housing (210), and when the spring module (260) is mounted, the rotary shaft (250) is rotatably mounted at the center of the housing, and at the same time, is connected to a spring (270) and an additional elastic body (275) along the direction of the shaft. The distal end (254) of the rotary shaft (250) can be interlocked with the bobbin (240) through a gear train (290). In the present embodiment, the spring module (260) is directly coupled to the first housing (210) without a cylinder hub, and can be rotatably supported while supporting the inner surface of the bobbin (240). That is, the spring housing (280) serves as a housing of the spring module (260) and serves as a medium through which the additional elastic body (275) and the spring (270) are fixed to the first housing (210), and can itself serve as a center for the rotation of the bobbin (240). As shown in FIG. 13, the cylinder portion (282) of the spring module (260) of the present embodiment can have a relatively larger diameter than the cylinder portion (182) of the previous embodiment, which can help to further reinforce the additional elastic body (275) relatively or, conversely, to form the additional elastic body space and the overall tapered size smaller. Additional elastic (275) can assist with greater force, further reduce the width of the spring (270), and more efficiently utilize the internal space of the bobbin (240) that would otherwise be empty.Referring to Fig. 9, the first housing (210) and the spring housing (280) can be provided in a state of being integrally combined during the initial assembly, and the assembly of the tape measure can be simply completed by combining the first housing (210) and the second housing (220) centered on the bobbin (240) on which the blade (230) is wound. In addition, when assembling the first housing (210) and the second housing (220), if the proximal end of the rotational shaft (250) exposed at the center of the housing cover (216) is tightened with a wrench or the like, it is also possible to assemble with the spring in a tensed state. In some cases, when the spring is loose, the housing can be separated and the rotational shaft (250) can be rotated in the tightening direction to reinforce the loosened force. The spring module (260) may be provided as a package including a spring housing (280), a rotation shaft (250), an additional elastic body (275), a spring (270), and a housing cover (216), and a specific description thereof may refer to the description of the previous embodiment. In the spring housing (280), the rotation shaft (250) is disposed through the center, the additional elastic body (275) is accommodated in a hollow cylinder portion (282), the spring (270) is accommodated in a hollow disk portion (284), and the outer end may be bent and fixed through a slit (286). For this purpose, the first housing (210) is formed with a hole (212) through which the spring module (260) can enter without a cylinder hub, and the additional elastic body (275) and the rotation shaft (250) together with the spring module (260) can enter inside the bobbin (240). The end of the rotation shaft (250) protrudes from the end of the cylinder portion (282) of the spring housing (280), and the end of the rotation shaft (250) can be connected to the gear train (290) of the second housing (220) by passing through the bobbin (240). A protrusion (288) or a bent portion can be formed on the outer surface of the spring housing (280), and the spring housing (280) can be connected to the first housing (210) or the housing cover (216).By fixing the spring housing (280) to the first housing (210), the spring (270) and the additional elastic body (275) can be fixed to the housing. The distal end (254) of the rotary shaft (250) is connected to the gear train (290) of the second housing (220), and the rotary shaft (250) and the bobbin (240) can be linked without a spring through the first gear (292), the second gear (294), and the third gear (296). By the gear train (290), the rotational speed of the bobbin (240) can be designed to rotate much more than the rotational speed of the rotary shaft (250). Even if the rotational speed of the rotary shaft (250) is reduced, the weakening of the force is prevented by forming a strong parallel spring combination, and the spring space can be further reduced than in the past by using the strong parallel spring combination. As described above, although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below.

Claims

【Scope of Claims】 【 Claim 11 A tape measure comprising: a housing; a bobbin rotating within the housing; a blade wound on a winding surface of the bobbin and drawn out or withdrawn into the housing through an inlet; and a spring module including a spring housing, a rotational axis accommodated within the spring housing, and a spring connecting the spring housing and the rotational axis; wherein the force of the spring is transmitted to the bobbin through the rotational axis. 【

2. A tape measure according to claim 1, wherein the spring housing includes a hollow cylinder portion inserted into the inside of the bobbin and a hollow disk portion integrally formed with the bobbin portion and positioned on one side of the bobbin, the rotational axis penetrates through the cylinder portion and the disk portion of the spring housing in a direction to be interlocked with the bobbin, the spring connects the spring housing and the rotational axis in the disk portion, and the spring housing is fixed to the housing so as not to rotate the rotational axis about the center of the bobbin. 【

3. In claim 2, the housing comprises a first portion covering one side of the bobbin where the disk portion is located. A tape measure provided using a housing and a second housing covering the other side of the bobbin, wherein the first housing includes a housing cover covering the disk portion. 【

4. A tape measure according to claim 3, characterized in that it includes a gear train interposed between the second housing and the bobbin and linking the rotational shaft and the bobbin, and the ratio of the rotation of the bobbin to the rotation of the rotational shaft by the gear train is greater than 1. 【

5. A tape measure according to claim 4, wherein the gear train includes a first gear that is directly engaged with the rotation shaft, a second gear that is mounted on the second housing and engages with the first gear, and a third gear that engages with the second gear and transmits rotation to the ¬bin, wherein the second gear is fixed to the second housing. 【

6. A tape measure according to claim 2, wherein the cylinder part rotatably supports the inner surface of the bobbin. 【

7. In claim 2, the first housing includes a hollow linder hub that rotatably supports the inner surface of the bobbin, and the cylinder portion is inserted into the interior of the cylinder hub. A ruler with features. 【

8. A tape measure according to claim 2, characterized in that a space is formed between the cylinder portion and the rotational shaft. 【A tape measure according to claim 8, wherein the ratio of the winding diameter of the bobbin to the outer diameter of the rotating shaft is 200 to 600%.

10. A spring according to claim 8, further comprising an additional elastic body connecting the cylinder portion and the rotational shaft, characterized in that the spring and the additional elastic body have the same winding direction.

11. A tape measure according to claim 10, characterized in that the thickness of the spring is thicker than the thickness of the additional elastic body.

12. A tape measure according to claim 11, wherein the thickness of the spring is 2 to 4 times the thickness (Ti) of the additional elastic body.

13. A tape measure according to claim 10, characterized in that the width of the additional elastic body is 2 to 5 times wider than the width of the spring.

14. A tape measure according to claim 2, wherein the maximum outer diameter of the disk portion is 60 to 95% of the maximum outer diameter of the bobbin.

15. A tape measure according to claim 2, characterized in that the rotational axis includes a flange that separates the cylinder portion and the disk portion.

16. A tape measure according to claim 2, wherein the spring housing includes a slit formed on a side surface of the disk portion, and one end of the spring is connected to the slit. 22

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