Device for winding and reeling an elongated flexible member

Claim 1

A winding and reeling device comprising a casing, a first shaft defining a central axis in said casing, a toothless reel disposed to rotate about the central axis in said casing, an elongated flexible member wound on said reel and having one end protruding out of said casing, a spiral spring in said casing adapted to rotationally bias said reel in a take-up rotational direction, said spiral spring having an inner end and an outer end, said outer end being connected to said reel, gear means in said casing operatively connected to the inner end of said spiral spring and being operatively connected to said reel, said gear means including first and second gears rigidly connected to each other and each having a different number of teeth, a second shaft rigidly connected to said first and second gears and being journalled to said toothless reel eccentrically to said central axis, a third gear rigidly connected to said casing and meshing with said second gear, and a fourth gear meshing with said first gear and being rigidly connected to said first shaft, said gear means upon rotation causing rotation of the outer end of said spiral spring at a first rotational speed and rotation of the inner end of said spiral spring at a slower second rotational speed, the improvement being characterized in that said first and third gears have a first number of teeth and said second and fourth gears have a second number of teeth larger than the first number of teeth, and wherein a locking member is disposed exteriorly of said casing and is displaceable between a released position and a locking position, said locking member engaging the elongated flexible member in a drawn out position against the biassing force of said spiral spring to define its locking position, a notch in said locking member, and a sliding member movably carried by said casing for movement into said notch for locking said locking member in its released position.