| 摘要 |
A wire management device for providing ability to wind, unwind and retract wires, cords, cables, strings, threads and similar objects onto a spool. By having wire brought onto the spool from one side through a slot, hole, opening, or over the edge of spool wall, the device may engage loose, unilaterally or bilaterally attached wires external to it, thereby delivering a new functionality and also making it portable and reusable. Wire centering elements enable centering of the spool with respect to the wire when tension is applied to the wire. These elements do not hamper the winding, unwinding, or retraction of the wire. A wire distribution guide mechanism further enables even distribution of the wire across the spool when the wire is retracted, while not affecting the operation of the wire management device. |
| 主权项 |
1. A wire management device (WMD) comprising:
a spool having an axis portion around which the spool is rotatable and two side walls with at least one of the two side walls being a fixed side wall and attached to the axis portion of the spool, wherein at least a portion of a wire external to the WMD to be managed is capable of being wound onto the spool through one of an aperture in at least one of the side walls, a slot in an edge portion of at least one of the two side walls, or over said edge portion of one of the walls of the spool in conjunction with a locking mechanism configured to fixedly hold the wire relative to the wall; wherein when the at least a portion of the wire is brought from one side onto the spool through the aperture, slot, or over the edge of the spool and is fixedly held by either a structure of the aperture or slot, the locking mechanism configured to hold the wire in place with at least a portion of the same wire wound around the spool, wherein the wire may be wound up on the spool and unwound from the spool through at least rotation of the spool. |
