JP7585644B2 - Cable holder - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cable holder that is used to hold a long cable or cord in a wound state.

The following patent document discloses a cable holder (bobbin) in which an exterior material (brim 6) is arranged to sandwich from above and below a core (body 4) around which a cable or cord is wound. The exterior material of this cable holder is soft and can be deformed. The flexibility of the exterior material makes it easier to wind the cord around the core and to pull out the wound cord.

On the other hand, the exterior material of the cable holder shown above is disk-shaped in a plan view, in other words, its outer periphery is a perfect circle with no indentations. Therefore, the person holding the cable holder may tend to drop it. In addition, the rigidity of the exterior material is not high, and there is a concern that the exterior material may distort and deform unnecessarily when an external force is applied.

Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 2002-139873

The present invention aims to provide a cable holder that can be easily held or carried.

The present invention provides a cable holder for holding a long cable or cord in a wound state, comprising a core portion around whose outer periphery the cable or cord is wound, and a pair of exterior materials which face each other so as to sandwich the core portion from above and below, at least one of which has an outer periphery formed with a recess that is recessed inward in a planar view, and a peripheral wall which extends in a vertical direction from at least the outer periphery of the recess, and the core portion extends in a planar direction.The cable holder is configured such that the core portion extends in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, and the middle portion is thinner in planar view than both ends .

If the recesses in the exterior material are provided in pairs at multiple locations spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to the up-down direction in a plan view, the user can easily grip the cable holder by placing his or her fingers on both of them, making it difficult for the cable holder to be dropped.

If the recess in the exterior material has an inner side that is recessed inward from the portion adjacent to the recess on the outer periphery of the exterior material in a plan view, and a connecting side that connects both ends of the inner side to the portion adjacent to the recess on the outer periphery of the exterior material, and the angle between the inner side and the connecting side is an obtuse angle, the user can easily place his or her fingers on the recess. In addition, the cable or cord is prevented from getting caught in the corner (recessed corner) where the inner side of the recess intersects with the connecting side, and the operation of winding or pulling out the cable or cord is not hindered.

In order to improve the shape retention of the exterior material, it is preferable that the peripheral wall is continuous all the way around the outer periphery of the exterior material.

If the outer dimensions of the cable holder in the vertical direction are smaller than the outer dimensions in the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, and the cable holder is flat, the cable holder will not be bulky when stored in a storage item such as a bag.

If the core portion extends in a direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and its middle portion is thinner than both ends in plan view, the weight of the core portion and therefore the cable holder can be reduced while still ensuring the strength and rigidity required for the core portion around which the cable or cord is wound. In addition, the amount of material consumed to form the core portion can be reduced.

If the cable holder can be stored in a storage item such as a bag, and can be held against the inner surface of the storage item by engaging a band provided on the inner surface of the storage item with the recess, the cable holder is prevented from moving around or moving about inside the storage item during transportation. It is also possible to avoid losing track of where the cable holder is inside the storage item.

The present invention provides a cable holder that can be easily held or carried.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cable holder according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cable holder taken along line AA in the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the cable holder taken along line BB in the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cable holder taken along line CC of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the cable holder of the embodiment is held by a belt provided on the storage tool. FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing the cable holder of the embodiment held by a belt provided on the storage tool. FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the present invention.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The cable holder 1 of this embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 7 has a pair of exterior materials 2, 3 arranged above and below a core 4 around which a cable or cord (shown by a dashed line in Figs. 5 and 7) 6 is wound, and the core 4 is covered with the exterior materials 2, 3. This cable holder 1 has a flat outer shape in which the outer dimensions along the vertical direction (i.e., the outer dimensions of the upper surface of the upper exterior material 2 and the lower surface of the lower exterior material 3) are smaller than the outer dimensions along the left-right direction and the front-back direction perpendicular to the up-down direction (i.e., the outer dimensions of the left-right direction and the front-back direction of the exterior materials 2, 3).

The core 4 is harder than the exterior materials 2 and 3 and has a rigidity that makes it less likely to deform. In contrast, the exterior materials 2 and 3 are softer than the core 4 and can be elastically deformed. The core 4 and the exterior materials 2 and 3 are made from resin. For example, the core 4 and the exterior materials 2 and 3 may be integrally formed using the same material by injection molding or the like, or the core 4 and the exterior materials 2 and 3 may be made from different materials (such as a hard resin for the core 4 and a soft resin for the exterior materials 2 and 3) and integrally formed by two-color molding or the like.

As shown in Figures 2 to 5, the core 4 expands in the left-right direction. In plan view (or cross-sectional view), the left and right ends 41 bulge out in a circular shape, just like a long bone or dumbbell shape, and the middle portion 42 is thinner than both ends 41. The cable or cord 6 wound around the core 4 contacts the outer surfaces of both ends 41 of the core 4, but does not necessarily contact the outer surface of the middle portion 42.

1 to 5, the exterior materials 2 and 3 are expanded outwardly more than the core 4 in plan view. The lower exterior material 3 of the pair of exterior materials 2 and 3 that sandwich the core 4 from above and below has a bottom wall 31 that is joined to the lower end of the core 4 and a peripheral wall 32 that stands almost directly above the outer periphery of the bottom wall 31. The peripheral wall 32 is almost perpendicular to the bottom wall 31, but in order to facilitate the molding of the exterior material 3, it is inclined very slightly (at an angle of about 3°) so as to be biased outward as it moves away from the bottom wall 31. The outer periphery of the bottom wall 31 has a convex curved shape, particularly an oval shape, with no recessed portion inward in plan view. The peripheral wall 32 is continuous around the outer periphery of the bottom wall 31. The bottom wall 31 and the peripheral wall 32 of the exterior material 3 are integrally molded from the same soft material. The bottom wall 31 and the peripheral wall 32 of the exterior material 3 are both elastically deformable.

The upper exterior material 2 has a top wall 21 joined to the upper end of the core 4, and a peripheral wall 22 hanging down almost directly below the outer periphery of the top wall 21. The peripheral wall 22 is almost perpendicular to the top wall 21, but is inclined very slightly (at an angle of about 3°) so as to be biased outward as it moves away from the top wall 21 in order to facilitate the molding of the exterior material 2. Most of the outer periphery of the top wall 21 overlaps with the outer periphery of the bottom wall 31 of the exterior material 3 below in a plan view. However, unlike the bottom wall 31, a recess 23 is provided at a part of the outer periphery of the top wall 21, more specifically at the front edge and the rear edge, which are recessed inward in a plan view (i.e., rearward from the front edge and forward from the rear edge). These recesses 23 are spaced apart in pairs along the front-to-rear direction. The distance between the two recesses 23 (the inner edges 231) is approximately equal to or less than the distance between the tips of the thumb and index finger (or middle finger or ring finger) when a person spreads their fingers apart.

The recess 23 has an inner side 231 that is recessed inward from the portion adjacent to the recess 23 on the outer periphery of the top wall 21, and connecting sides 232 that connect both ends of the inner side 231 to the portion adjacent to the recess 23 on the outer periphery of the top wall 21. As shown in Figures 2 and 5, the connecting sides 232 located on both sides of the inner side 231 are in a V-shape that widens away from each other as they move from the inside to the outside in a plan view. The angle α between the inner side 231 and the connecting side 232 of the recess 23 is an obtuse angle that is wider than a right angle.

The peripheral wall 22 is continuous around the outer periphery of the top wall 21. In particular, even where the recess 23 exists, it extends while bending along the connecting edge 232 and the inner edge 231. In other words, the peripheral wall 22 hanging down from the inner edge 231 of the recess 23 in the top wall 21 is connected to the peripheral wall 22 hanging down from the connecting edge 232 of the recess 23, and the peripheral wall 22 hanging down from the connecting edge 232 is connected to the peripheral wall 22 hanging down from the outer periphery of the part of the top wall 21 adjacent to the recess 23. In short, the peripheral wall 22 is also recessed corresponding to the shape of the recess 23. The top wall 21 and peripheral wall 22 of the exterior material 2 are integrally molded from the same soft material. Both the top wall 21 and peripheral wall 22 of the exterior material 2 are elastically deformable.

As shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4, a gap is present between the peripheral wall 22 of the upper exterior material 2 and the peripheral wall 32 of the lower exterior material 3. The cable or cord 6 wound around the core 4 of the cable holder 1 is inserted through this gap into the interior of the cable holder 1 surrounded by the exterior materials 2 and 3, and is pulled out to the outside of the cable holder 1. The width of the gap (i.e., the distance between the lower end of the peripheral wall 22 and the upper end of the peripheral wall 32) is approximately equal to or slightly narrower than the thickness of the cable or cord 6 wound around the cable holder 1. As an example, if the thickness of the cable or cord 6 is about 4 mm, the width of the gap is set to about 3 mm.

This cable holder 1 is used with a device 7, such as a portable notebook or tablet computer, and holds a power supply cable 6 connected to the device 7 in a wound state. Then, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, this cable holder 1 can be stored together with the device 7 in a storage device 5, such as a bag or case, for storing the device 7. A ring-shaped band 51 is attached to the inner surface of the storage device 5 in the illustrated example. The band 51 may be an openable band in which one end and the other end are connected via a hook-and-loop fastener or a snap button, or it may be something like a rubber band that is originally continuous around the entire circumference. When storing the cable holder 1 in the storage device 5, the band 51 is held by wrapping it around the exterior materials 2 and 3, and the cable holder 1 is held against the inner surface of the storage device 5. At this time, the band 51 can be engaged with the recesses 23 provided in the exterior materials 2 and 3. The width of the band 51 in the left-right direction is approximately equal to or slightly narrower than the width of the recess 23 in the left-right direction.

In this embodiment, the cable holder 1 is configured to hold a long cable or cord 6 in a wound state, and includes a core 4 around which the cable or cord 6 is wound, and a pair of exterior materials 2, 3 that are softer than the core 4 and face each other so as to sandwich the core 4 from above and below, with at least one of the exterior materials 2, 3 having a recess 23 formed on the outer periphery of the outer periphery that is recessed inward in a plan view, and peripheral walls 22 extending upward and downward toward each other from at least the outer periphery including the recess 23.

According to this embodiment, the user can place his/her fingers in the recess 23 to firmly grip the cable holder 1, making it difficult for the cable holder 1 to be dropped. In addition, since the peripheral wall 22 is formed along the outer periphery of the recess 23, the strength and rigidity of the portion of the exterior material 2 where the recess 23 is provided is appropriately compensated for, and the risk of unnecessary distortion and deformation of the exterior material 2 when subjected to an external force is reduced.

The recesses 23 in the exterior material 2 are provided in pairs at multiple locations spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction in a plan view, allowing the user to easily grip the cable holder 1 by placing their fingers on both of them.

The recess 23 of the exterior material 2 has an inner side 231 that is recessed inward from the portion adjacent to the recess 23 on the outer periphery of the exterior material 2 in a plan view, and a connecting side 232 that connects both ends of the inner side 231 to the portion adjacent to the recess 23 on the outer periphery of the exterior material 2, and the angle α between the inner side 231 and the connecting side 232 is an obtuse angle, so that the user can easily place his or her fingers on the recess 23. Furthermore, the cable or cord 6 is prevented from getting caught on the corner 233 where the inner side 231 of the recess 23 intersects with the connecting side 232, and the operation of winding or pulling out the cable or cord 6 is not hindered.

The peripheral walls 22, 32 are continuous all the way around the outer periphery of the exterior materials 2, 3, improving the shape retention of the exterior materials 2, 3.

The outer dimensions of the cable holder 1 in the vertical direction are smaller than the outer dimensions in the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, and the cable holder 1 is flat, so that the cable holder 1 does not become bulky when stored in a storage device 5 such as a bag.

The core 4 expands in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, and in plan view, its middle portion 42 is thinner than both end portions 41. This allows the core 4, and in turn the cable holder 1, to be made lighter while still maintaining the strength and rigidity required for the core 4 around which the cable or cord 6 is wound. The amount of material consumed to form the core 4 is also reduced.

The cable holder 1 can be stored in a storage item 5 such as a bag, and can be held against the inner surface of the storage item 5 by engaging the band 51 provided on the inner surface of the storage item 5 with the recess 23, which prevents the cable holder 1 from moving around or moving about inside the storage item 5 during transportation. When taking the cable holder 1 out of the storage item 5, it is possible to avoid losing track of where it is, and the trouble of searching inside the storage item 5 is eliminated.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above in detail. For example, in the above embodiment, the peripheral wall 22 is continuous all around along the outer periphery of the exterior material 2, but it is also possible that a portion of the peripheral wall 22 is missing and does not continue all around along the outer periphery of the exterior material 2. In particular, it is also possible to provide the peripheral wall 22 only in the area of the recess 23 or only in a portion of the area including the recess 23, and not provide the peripheral wall 22 in other areas. The same applies to the peripheral wall 32 of the exterior material 3.

In the above embodiment, the recess 23 is provided only in the upper exterior material 2 and not in the lower exterior material 3, but the recess 23 may be provided in both exterior materials 2 and 3.

In the above embodiment, the peripheral walls 22, 32 of the exterior materials 2, 3 are substantially perpendicular to the top wall 21 and the bottom wall 31, but it is also permissible for the peripheral walls 22, 32 to be inclined and not perpendicular to the top wall 21 and the bottom wall 31. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, the peripheral walls 22, 32 may be curved from the outer peripheral edge of the top wall 21 or the bottom wall 31 and extend in the vertical direction.

In addition, the specific configuration of each part can be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 cable holder 2, 3 exterior material 22 peripheral wall 23 recess 231 inner side 232 connection side 4 core 41 end 42 middle part 5 storage tool 51 band 6 cable or cord α angle between inner side and connection side

Claims (6)

A cable holder for holding a long cable or cord in a wound state,
a core around which a cable or cord is wound;
A cable holder comprising a pair of exterior materials which face each other so as to sandwich the core portion from above and below, at least one of which has an outer peripheral edge formed with a recess that is recessed inward in a planar view , and a peripheral wall which extends in the vertical direction from at least the outer peripheral edge of the recess, wherein the core portion extends in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, and the middle portion is thinner in a planar view than both ends . The cable holder of claim 1, wherein the recesses in the exterior material are provided in pairs at multiple locations spaced apart along a direction perpendicular to the up-down direction in a plan view. The cable holder according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the recess in the exterior material has an inner side that is recessed inward from the portion adjacent to the recess on the outer periphery of the exterior material in a plan view, and a connecting side that connects both ends of the inner side to the portion adjacent to the recess on the outer periphery of the exterior material, and the angle between the inner side and the connecting side is an obtuse angle. A cable holder according to claim 1, 2 or 3, in which the peripheral wall is continuous around the outer periphery of the exterior material. A cable holder according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, which is flat and has outer dimensions in the vertical direction smaller than the outer dimensions in the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction. 6. A cable holder according to claim 1 , which can be stored in a storage item such as a bag, and can be held against the inner surface of the storage item by engaging a band provided on the inner surface of the storage item with the recess .

Images