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US 12,344,187 B2Granted
Web retractor with damper to resist spool rotation
AssigneeIndiana Mills & Manufacturing, Inc.
InventorDouglas W. Bittner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A damped web retractor may include a frame, a spool including a spool shaft rotatably mounted to the frame, wherein the spool is configured to couple to one end of a web such that the web wraps around the spool as the spool shaft rotates relative to the frame in a web take up direction and such that the web unwraps from the spool as the spool shaft rotates in a web pay out direction, and a damper operatively coupled to the spool shaft, the damper configured to resist rotation of the spool shaft in at least one rotational direction.
Claims20
A damped web retractor, comprising:
- a frame,
- a spool including a spool shaft rotatably mounted to the frame, the spool configured to couple to one end of a web such that the web wraps around the spool as the spool shaft rotates relative to the frame in a web take up direction and such that the web unwraps from the spool as the spool shaft rotates in a web pay out direction, and
- a damper operatively coupled to the spool shaft at all times, the damper configured to resist rotation of the spool shaft at any rotational speed in the web take up direction.
A damped web retractor, comprising:
- a frame,
- a flexible web,
- a spool including a spool shaft rotatably mounted to the frame, the spool configured to couple to one end of the web such that the web wraps around the spool as the spool shaft rotates relative to the frame in a web take up direction and such that the web unwraps from the spool as the spool shaft rotates in a web pay out direction, and
- a web guide movably mounted to the frame and defining a slot through which the web passes, the web guide moving to a web payout position relative to the frame in response to rotation of the spool in the web payout direction, and the web guide moving to a web take up position relative to the frame in response to rotation of the spool in the web take up direction, the slot of the web guide configured to engage the web in take up position of the web guide so as to damp rotation of the spool shaft in the web take up direction.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.