The present invention relates generally to layout tools, and more particularly to chalk line marking devices commonly referred to as chalk reels, chalk spools, chalk boxes or chalk lines (hereinafter referred to as “chalk reels”).
Chalk reels are known that consist of a spool on which a line or string is wound. The spool, line and the drive transmission for the spool are supported in a housing. The drive transmission may comprise gears, springs and other components that connect the spool to an external handle for rewinding the line on the spool after use. A chalk chamber is filled or partially filled with a colored chalk such that as the line that is wound on the spool it is coated in chalk. The line can be unwound from the housing through an aperture in the housing such that it can be “snapped” on a surface to form a line of chalk on the surface. The resulting line of chalk can be used as a reference line in construction or other applications. Features of conventional chalk reels include those found in U.S. Pat. No. 9,701,154, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
According to an embodiment, a chalk reel includes a housing defining a chalk chamber and an opening from the chalk chamber; a spool positioned within the chalk chamber; and a line wound on the spool and extending through the opening, the line having a width of dimension X. The spool comprises an axial hub and a sidewall. The sidewall comprises a plurality of apertures extending through the sidewall from a first face distal from the axial hub to a second face proximal to the axial hub. Each of the plurality of apertures having a maximum width of dimension Y. The dimension Y is sized so that no loops of the line may fit through each of the plurality of apertures.
These and other objects, features, and characteristics of the present invention, as well as the methods of operation and functions of the related elements of structure and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of the following description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various figures. In one embodiment of the invention, the structural components illustrated herein are drawn to scale. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. In addition, it should be appreciated that structural features shown or described in any one embodiment herein can be used in other embodiments as well. As used in the specification and in the claims, the singular form of “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Features of chalk reels in accordance with one or more embodiments are shown in the drawings, in which like reference numerals designate like elements. The drawings form part of this original disclosure in which:
It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present invention. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Relative terms such as “below” or “above” or “upper” or “lower” or “horizontal” or “vertical” or “top” or “bottom” may be used herein to describe a relationship of one element, component or region to another element, component or region as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that these terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures.
As shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, the chalk reel 100 has a winding handle 150 that facilitates rotating the spool 140 to retract the line 130 and hook 120 into the housing 110. As shown, the winding handle 150 may be pivotable, and as such may move from a compactified storage position to an extended winding position. In some embodiments, the chalk reel 100 may have a gearing system that provides a mechanical advantage for more rapidly retracting the line 130 and hook 120 into the housing 110. In some such embodiments, the chalk reel 100 may include a clutch that may disengage the winding handle 150 from the spool 140, so that the winding handle 150 does not rotate when the hook 120 or line 130 is being pulled directly. As shown, a line release actuator 160 may be included in the chalk reel 100 to actuate such a clutch, and in the illustrated embodiment may be operatively positioned between the winding handle 150 and the spool 140 (or more specifically between the winding handle 150 and the gearing system, not shown) to disengage the spool 140 from the gearing system and/or the winding handle 150.
Before turning to the salient internal features of the chalk reel 100, it may further be appreciated from
Turning to
It is known in the art of chalk reels to include apertures in the spools, which permit permeation of chalk to interior windings of the line. For such reasons, these apertures, where included, are commonly large openings configured to maximize movement of chalk into the windings of the line carried by the spool, and move and aerate through the apertures into the spool as the spool is rotated. It is an aspect of the present disclosure to improve upon such spools.
In the illustrated embodiment, the spool 140 includes a first sidewall 140a and a second sidewall 140b, connected therebetween by an axial hub 140c. As shown, in the spool 140, the axial hub 140c defines the spool axis feature 190 configured to engage with the winder axis feature. A plurality of apertures 200 are formed in one or more of the first sidewall 140a and the second sidewall 140b, so as to extend from an exterior of the spool 140 to the interior of the spool 140 between the sidewalls 140a and 140b. The apertures extend from an exterior face of each sidewall 140a and 140b distal from the axial hub 140c, to an interior face proximal to the axial hub 140c. Accordingly, as the line 130 is wound around the axial hub 140c, chalk that is at the exterior of the spool 140 may enter the apertures 200 to contact windings of the line 130 closer to the axial hub 140c, and not be blocked by windings of the line 130 radially outward from the axial hub 140c. As further shown in
It may be appreciated that in conventional chalk reels, having large sized apertures, or even a generally skeletal or widely webbed configuration of spool, retracting the line and hook into the housing by winding the spool may result in the line getting tangled by the chalk in the chalk chamber thereof, such that the line protrudes through the apertures and becomes tangled in the spool, the gearing mechanism, or other movable portions of the chalk reel. Some such conventional chalk reels have incorporated features such as easy-open configurations so that the spool may be removed, and the line may be easily rewound around the spool. With reference to
As shown in
Accordingly, with this configuration where the dimension Y of the aperture is approximately less than or equal to twice dimension X of the line 130, no loop of the line 130, which would typically be at least 2 times X in dimension (unless the line 130 is compressed), may form that may fit through the dimension Y of the aperture 200. It may be appreciated that certain sizes of chalk reel 100 may be configured with larger or smaller chalk capacities and/or line lengths. As such, in some embodiments, the dimension X of the line 130 for a large capacity chalk reel 100 may be larger than the dimension X of the line 130 for a small capacity chalk reel 100, as a longer intended snap length and thus length of line 130 may make desirable a thicker line 130 for increased line strength. Accordingly, where a larger dimension X of line 130 is utilized (e.g., for a thicker line), a corresponding larger dimension Y of the aperture 200 may also be utilized, allowing more chalk to pass through the aperture 200 into the inner windings of the line 130 on the spool 140, provided that the aperture is not so large that loops of the line 130 may pass therethrough.
With regard to a distinction between a large capacity chalk reel and a small capacity chalk reel, it may be appreciated that in some embodiments the outer diameter of the spool 140 (e.g., a diameter of the sidewall 140a and/or the sidewall 140b) may range between approximately 45 mm and 130 mm in various embodiments, which may facilitate lengths of line 130 between approximately 8 meters feet long to approximately 46 meters long. In some embodiments, a diameter of the spool 140 may be approximately 60 mm in diameter, while in other embodiments the diameter of the spool 140 may be approximately 65 mm in diameter, and in still other embodiments, the diameter of the spool 140 may be approximately 127 mm in diameter.
Although it may be appreciated that the line 130 may be resilient and compressible, in some embodiments the dimension Y in the sidewall 140a may be appropriately sized so as to be less than twice dimension X when the dimension X is of the line 130 as uncompressed. In an embodiment, the dimension Y may be approximately 1.5 times the size of dimension X. In an embodiment, the dimension Y may be approximately the same as the dimension X. In some embodiments, the dimension Y may be smaller than the dimension X. In various embodiments, the dimension X of the line 130 as uncompressed may be approximately between 0.5 mm and 1.5 mm, and in some embodiments may be approximately 1 mm, for a smaller capacity/length line 130. In various embodiments, the dimension X of the line 130 as uncompressed may be approximately between 1.5 mm and 2.5 mm, and in some embodiments may be approximately 2 mm, e.g., for a larger capacity/length line.
In some embodiments, the dimension Y of the sidewall 140a may be appropriately sized based on a possible compression of the line 130. In an embodiment, the dimension Y may be approximately 1.5 times the size of dimension X as compressed. In an embodiment, the dimension Y may be approximately the same as the dimension X as compressed. In some embodiments, the dimension Y may be smaller than the dimension X as compressed. In an embodiment, compression of the line 130 may reduce the dimension X of the line 130 to approximately between 0.25 mm and 0.75 mm, and in some embodiments may be approximately 0.5 mm, for a smaller capacity/length line 130. In various embodiments, the dimension X of the line 130 as compressed may be approximately between 0.75 mm and 1.25 mm, and in some embodiments may be approximately 1 mm, e.g., for a larger capacity/length line.
It may be appreciated in such embodiments though, the dimension Y of the sidewalls 140a or 140b would remain sufficiently large to permit permeation of chalk particles through the apertures 200, and would not be so small as to be functionally the same as having a solid sidewall 140a without apertures 200. Accordingly, in some embodiments the dimension Y of the apertures 200 may be as small as 1 mm, in particular where the apertures 200 are formed as molded into a plastic spool 140, as smaller sizes may increase molding difficulties. As discussed in greater detail below, however, by using a mesh material or a perforated material to define the apertures 200, the dimension Y of the apertures 200 may be significantly smaller, and may be closer in size to (although larger than) the typical size of grains of chalk (e.g., 0.015 mm). In various embodiments, the dimension Y of the apertures 200 may be approximately between 0.5 and 5 mm, and in some embodiments may be approximately 4 mm where the dimension X of the line 130 is approximately 2 mm, and may be approximately 2 mm where the dimension X of the line 130 is approximately 1 mm.
As shown in
In some embodiments, the number of apertures 200 on each sidewall 140a and 140b may differ. While in the illustrated embodiments the apertures 200 are generally symmetrically arranged on the sidewalls 140a and 140b, in other embodiments the apertures 200 may be asymmetrically positioned, and in some embodiments may be randomly positioned. In some embodiments, the apertures 200 may be appropriately placed on the spool 140 so as to align with appropriately placed chalk aeration features 210 in the chalk chamber, so as to create a desired movement of chalk from the chalk aeration features 210 into the apertures 200.
In some embodiments, the apertures 200 may be so plentiful on the sidewalls 140a or 140b that the sidewalls 140a or 140b approximate a mesh or perforated screen. In some embodiments, the sidewalls 140a or 140b may comprise a mesh material, including but not limited to metal mesh or plastic mesh, or a perforated material, including but not limited to perforated stainless steel or perforated aluminum. In some embodiments, these materials may define the bulk of the sidewalls 140a and/or 140b. For example, as shown in
The mesh or perforated material 220d may be of any appropriate construction or configuration, including but not limited to metal or plastic mesh. As a non-limiting embodiment, a metal mesh configuration may comprise stainless steel. It may be appreciated that chalk grain particles are typically approximately 15 microns, or 0.015 mm in size. In some embodiments, the aperture size of the mesh may be larger than such size so as to permit movement of chalk particles therethrough. For example, 635×635 mesh with a wire diameter of 0.0203 mm may define an aperture of 0.0203 mm, while 400×400 mesh with a wire diameter of 0.0254 mm may define an aperture of 0.37 mm. In an embodiment, a mesh material 220d may be similar to 200×200 mesh, which generally has apertures of 0.0737 mm. It may be appreciated that larger meshes may be utilized to accommodate larger dimensions X of lines 130. For example, a 5×5 mesh having a wire diameter of 1.04 mm has a larger aperture of approximately 4.04 mm, which may be utilized with a line 130 having a dimension X of approximately 2 mm. The weave method of the mesh material 220d may vary across embodiments, and may be configured as a plain weave, twill weave, Dutch weave, Dutch twill, or any other appropriate method of construction. Further, the mesh construction may be woven wire, welded wire, crimped wire, or so on. In still other embodiments, where the material 220d is a perforated material, the material be formed as perforated aluminum, perforated stainless steel, or perforated carbon steel.
In various embodiments, the chalk reels and components thereof described herein may be formed of metal, plastic, ceramic, or any other appropriate material. It may be appreciated that the components described herein may be of different constructions or configurations, including but not limited to one or more being comprised of different material choices. For example, the components described herein may each be constructed from a variety of materials, including but not limited to one or more of fabrics, plastics, metals, rubbers, elastomers, or any other appropriate material choice. For example, in an embodiment one or more of the components (e.g., the housing 110, the spool 140) may be formed of aluminum (e.g., machined aluminum), iron (e.g., steel), or any other appropriate material. Similarly, portions of the chalk reels may be formed from molded plastic, metal, or combinations thereof (e.g., plastic with metal supports or fasteners coupling portions tougher). In some embodiments, structural and functional components may be formed from metal or hard plastic, while gripped components positioned to engage the palm of a gripping hand to provide the palm with a comfortable gripping surface may be made of a suitable molded plastic material or elastomeric material, and may be generally formed as a bi-material suitable molded plastic material coated with a layer of an elastomeric material, such as a rubber based material. In some embodiments, the material choices may differ from component to component (e.g., a metal housing 110 and a plastic spool 140). In various embodiments, some components may be integrally formed together, while other components may be assembled by any appropriate mechanism, including but not limited to fastened, welded, snap-fit, friction fit, adhesive bonding, or other appropriate securements.
Although the invention has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration based on what is currently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it is to be understood that the present invention contemplates that, to the extent possible, one or more features of any embodiment can be combined with one or more features of any other embodiment.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/698,243, filed Mar. 18, 2022, and issuing as U.S. Pat. No. 11,872,838 on Jan. 16, 2024, titled “JAM RESISTANT CHALK REEL,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 17698243 | Mar 2022 | US |
Child | 18411749 | US |