US20090184190A1

US20090184190A1 - Reel device with music play function

Info

Publication number: US20090184190A1
Application number: US12/010,233
Authority: US
Inventors: Chen-Che Lin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: GO-ROCK TECHNOLOGY Co Ltd
Priority date: 2008-01-23
Filing date: 2008-01-23
Publication date: 2009-07-23

Abstract

A reel device with music play function includes a reel box, a music player and an earphone. The reel box has a shell and a reel element mounted in the shell. The music player is combined with the shell of the reel box. The earphone has a cable electrically connected with the music player and an audio output unit electrically connected with the cable. The reel element can reel in the cable of the earphone. Basing on the above structure, the present invention can provide a music play function and is convenient for carry, use and collection of the cable of the earphone.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reel device, and more especially to a reel device with music play function.
2. Description of Related Art
With the development of science and technology, all kinds of high science and technology portable electronic products, such as cell phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer-3) players and so on, appear on the market. Generally, users listen to audio files stored in the portable electronic products via earphones to avoid interfering with others. At present, the earphones on the market include single-cable earphones, double-cable earphones, Bluetooth earphones, and so on.
Because the Bluetooth earphones are more expensive than the single-cable earphones and the double-cable earphones, and MP3 players with Bluetooth chips are also expensive, most users generally use cable earphones to coordinate with MP3 players without Bluetooth chips. But the cable earphones and the MP3 players are separable, so the following situations easily appear during use:
(1) The users forget to take their cable earphones with themselves;
(2) The users easily lose their cable earphones;
(3) When used, the cables for the cable earphones are easily entangled and difficult to be released.
Hence, the inventors of the present invention believe that the shortcomings described above are able to be improved and finally suggest the present invention which is of a reasonable design and is an effective improvement based on deep research and thought.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a reel device with music play function which can reel in cables for an earphone and provide a music play function. The reel device with music play function is convenient for carry, use and collection of cables for the earphone.
To achieve the above-mentioned object, a reel device with music play function in accordance with the present invention is provided. The reel device with music play function includes a reel box having a shell and a reel element for providing an automatically retracting force mounted in the shell, a music player combined with the shell of the reel box, and an earphone having a cable electrically connected with the music player and an audio output unit electrically connected with the cable, wherein the cable passes through and coils round the reel element.
The efficacy of the present invention is as follows: the present invention disposes the music player in the reel box and integratedly connects the reel element with the earphone, and the present invention can reel in the cable of the earphone via the reel element, so that it is convenient in the present invention for carry, use and collection of the cables of the earphone and can provide a music play function.
To further understand features and technical contents of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed description and drawings related the present invention. However, the drawings are only to be used as references and explanations, not to limit the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a rolling ball mounted in a rotating plate of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a first plan view show the rotating plate of the present invention during rotation;

FIG. 5 is a second plan view show the rotating plate of the present invention during rotation;

FIG. 6 is a third plan view show the rotating plate of the present invention during rotation; and

FIG. 7 is a fourth plan view show the rotating plate of the present invention during rotation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrating a reel device with music play function according to the present invention. The reel device with music play function includes a reel box 1, a music player 3 and an earphone 4.
The reel box 1 includes a shell 10 and a reel element 20 for providing an automatically retracting force. The shell 10 is formed by a plurality of shell elements jointed with each other and defines a receiving room 11 thereinside. The shell 10 has an axle pole 12 and a limiting groove 13, wherein the axle pole 12 protrudes upwards from an inner surface of the shell 10 in the receiving room 11 and has an axial slot 121 formed therein. The limiting groove 13 is concavely formed in the inner surface of the shell 10, corresponding to the receiving room 11.
The reel element 20 includes a rotating plate 21, a wind spring 22 and a rolling ball 23. The rotating plate 21 has a positioning hole 211 formed in a center thereof, a first groove 212 annularly formed in a top surface thereof around the positioning hole 211, an inclined guiding groove 213 formed in the top surface thereof, which is adjacent to and connected with the first groove 212, and an arc-shaped cut groove 214 annularly formed in the surface thereof and adjacent to the inclined guiding groove 213. The cut groove 214 is connected with the inclined guiding groove 213 and the first groove 212. The rotating plate 21 has a collecting portion 215 concavely formed in a side edge thereof, a through-hole (not shown) connected with the collecting portion 215 and a positioning groove 216 formed in a bottom of the side edge thereof. The wind spring 22 is volute-shaped and has two positioning ends 221, 222.
The music player 3, which may be a MP3 player, is combined with the shell 10. Since components of the MP3 player, such as a circuit board 31, a processing chip 32 and memories and transmission components (not shown), for example, flash memories and USP ports, and so on, which are mounted inside the shell 10, and operating components and display components such as key-presses 33 and a display panel 34 and so on, which are exposed on a surface of the shell 10, may be readily achieved by those skilled in the art, so detailed descriptions of these components are omitted inhere and the components aren't limited in some special components.
The earphone 4 has cables 41 and audio output units 42 mounted on ends of the cables 41 and electrically connected with the cables 41. Additionally, in the figures of the present invention, the earphone 4 is an earphone with double cables, that is, with two cables 41 and two audio output units 42. Of course, the earphone 4 may be an earphone with a single cable, that is, with one cable 41 and an audio output unit 42.
The cables 41 of the earphone 4 may pass through the through-hole of the rotating plate 21, and further roil round the collecting portion 215 of the rotating plate 21. Front ends of the cables 41 are electrically connected with the music player 3, so that audio signals from the music player 3 may be transmitted to the audio output unit 42 and provided for users.
The wind spring 22 may be mounted round the axle pole 12. One positioning end 221 of the wind spring 22 is inserted and fixed in the slot 121 firstly. The rolling ball 23 may be rollably preplaced in the first groove 212 of the rotating plate 21. Then the positioning hole 211 of the rotating plate 21 engages with the axle pole 12, thereby the rotating plate 21 may sleeve the axle pole 12 and the wind spring 22 and cover the wind spring 22. At the same time, the other positioning end 222 of the wind spring 22 is inserted and fixed in the positioning groove 216 of the rotating plate 21. Accordingly, the wind spring 22 may engage with the axle pole 12 and the rotating plate 21 simultaneously so that the rotating plate 21 may provide an automatically retracting force. Furthermore, the rolling ball 23 may be just correspondingly located in a corresponding portion of the limiting groove 13. Thus, the reel element 20 of the present invention may be located in the receiving room 11 of the shell 10. When the rotating plate 21 is rotating, the rolling ball 23 may be rollably located in the first groove 212, the inclined guiding groove 213 or the cut groove 214, and correspondingly located in the limiting groove 13 simultaneously.
In practice, the assembled reel device with music play function of the present invention can reel in the cables 41 and collect the cables 41 in the reel element 20, thereby providing a cable reel function. Besides, the reel device combines with the MP3 player 3 to provide a music play function, which improves the usability of the present invention.
Basing on the engagement structure of the reel element 20, once a predetermined length of the cables 41 of the earphone 4 are pulled out, the reel element 20 may temporarily fix the cables 41 to ensure that the cables 41 cannot be retracted, and when another predetermined length of the cables 41 are further pulled out, the reel element 20 may release the cables 41 to make the cables 41 be retracted automatically. Thereby the users can pull a required and fixed length of the cables out of the reel device, without interference of a retracting elastic force.
As shown in FIGS. 3-7, please refer to FIG. 1 simultaneously, the operation of the present invention is further illustrated. When the users pull out the cables 41 to drive the rotating plate 21 to rotate in an anticlockwise direction, the rolling ball 23 in the first groove 212 will roll towards the cut groove 214 in a clockwise direction and stop at a proper position (as shown in FIG. 4). If keeping on pulling out the cables 41, then the cables 41 only need to be given a pull firstly and then released. At this moment, the rolling ball 23 will roll in a clockwise direction under the influence of elastic deformation of the wind spring 22 (as shown in FIG. 5). When the rolling ball 23 rolls into the inclined guiding groove 213, the rolling ball 23 will be fixed in the inclined guiding groove 213, thereby the cables 41 are fixed.
When the cables 41 pulled out need to be reeled in, it only needs to give the cables 41 a pull so that the rolling ball 23 can roll from the inclined guiding groove 213 to the first groove 212 (as shown in FIG. 7), and then to release the cables 41, thereby the cables 41 can be retracted and collected in the shell 10 under the influence of the rotating plate 21 and the wind spring 22.
Additionally, it is worthwhile to mention that the present invention further includes a Bluetooth transceiver 5 mounted in the shell 10 of the reel box 1, as shown in FIG. 1. The Bluetooth transceiver 5 is electrically connected with the circuit board 31 of the music player 3, so that the present invention can receive an incoming audio signal from an outer device such as a cell phone via the Bluetooth transceiver 5 and then transmit the incoming audio signal to the users via the earphone 4, thereby the users communicate with others.
Accordingly, the present invention disposes the music player 3 in the reel box 1 and integratedly connects the reel element 20 with the earphone 4, and the present invention can reel in the cables 41 of the earphone 4 via the reel element 20, so the present invention is convenient for carry, use and collection of the cables 41 of the earphone 4. Moreover, when a predetermined length of the cables 41 of the earphone 4 are pulled out, the reel element 20 may temporarily fix the cables 41 to ensure that the cables 41 cannot be retracted, and then another predetermined length of the cables 41 are further pulled out so that the reel element 20 may release the cables 41 to make the cables 41 be retracted automatically. Thereby the users can pull a required and fixed length of the cables out of the reel device, without interference of a retracting elastic force.
What are disclosed above are only the specification and the drawings of the preferred embodiment of the present invention and it is therefore not intended that the present invention be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various equivalent changes may be made depending on the specification and the drawings of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A reel device with music play function, comprising:

a reel box having a shell and a reel element for providing an automatically retracting force mounted in the shell;

a music player combined with the shell of the reel box; and

an earphone having a cable electrically connected with the music player and an audio output unit electrically connected with the cable, the cable passing through and coiling round the reel element.

2. The reel device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shell has an axle pole and a limiting groove formed thereinside, and the reel element includes:

a rotating plate, sleeving the axle pole and having a first groove annularly formed therein, an inclined guiding groove adjacent to and connected with the first groove, and a cut groove annularly formed therein and adjacent to the inclined guiding groove, wherein the cut groove is connected with the inclined guiding groove and the first groove;

a wind spring engaging with the axle pole and the rotating plate for providing an automatically retracting force for the rotating plate; and

a rolling ball rollably placed in the first groove, the inclined guiding groove or the cut groove and corresponding to the limiting groove.

3. The reel device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rotating plate has a collecting portion concavely formed in a side edge thereof and a through-hole connected with the collecting portion, and the cable passes through the through-hole and coils round the collecting portion.

4. The reel device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the wind spring has two positioning ends, the axle pole has an axial slot for receiving one position end of the wind spring, and the rotating plate further has a positioning groove formed in a side edge thereof for receiving the other positioning end of the wind spring.

5. The reel device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the wind spring is volute-shaped.

6. The reel device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the music player is a MP3 player.

7. The reel device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a Bluetooth transceiver mounted in the shell.

8. The reel device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the Bluetooth transceiver is electrically connected with the music player.